


Looking for One Hot Batman Cosplayer

by caspie



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Cosplay, M/M, gaming convention AU, geek!Dean AU, probably no sexings until the sequel, slow build sort of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-21
Updated: 2014-07-30
Packaged: 2017-12-12 12:02:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 30,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/811393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caspie/pseuds/caspie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie takes Dean to his first con and a mysterious Batman the first night catches his eye. He doesn't get to talk to him, but when Darth Vader shows up to play in the Star Wars RPG Dean signed up for, Dean makes contact and finds out that it's the same man in both outfits. Never has Dean been so thankful for a man in costume before. When he discovers the man under the costume is even more attractive than the Batman outfit, Dean will be popping more than his con cherry this weekend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Dean is often portrayed as a jock, but my friend and I think that the geek scene suits him much better. So Dean is at his first con and I hope people enjoy his time being bros with Charlie and discovering his secret love for hot cosplaying men.

When Charlie called Dean to ask if he wanted to hit up a convention, he was a bit leery at first. It was a precious weekend and spending it with a bunch geeks wasn’t necessarily his gig, but then Charlie pointed out that some of the other LARPers would be there and the costumes were boss, especially some hot chicks. Her immediate acknowledgement of a great Vader being almost impossible to avoid, Dean was on board. So he’d immediately popped online to sign up for a Star Wars RPG (he had no idea what he’d be doing, but c’mon, STAR WARS) and, on Charlie’s recommendation, something called Warhammer, it really wasn’t a big deal, just some games.

The sound of the batcave opening notified Dean that Charlie had finally arrived for the trip to the convention center. He had packed a duffle full of the necessities, some extra plaid button downs, some jeans, socks, underwear, some dice (a gift from Sam laughing his ass off after Dean told him he was going to the con), and a deck of cards (poker is gaming too, right?).

“Hey, Dean, ready to go? I think our DM of the Rings panel is at 8 tonight, can’t miss that!”

“Heh, course not, just zipping the bag and we’re off. I hope you’re ready to rock some Metallica on the way there. And, don’t ever tell Sam or anyone else that I enjoyed that ridiculous DM of the Rings thing you sent me. I’ve never even PLAYED D&D.”

Charlie chuckled and shook her head like his hiding it was ridiculous. She knew how often he popped in a geek reference and that there was no shame there.

“Whatever dude, just claim it’s because it’s related to something called ‘Chainmail Bikini’ and who could complain? OH! That reminds me, I heard there’s gonna be some pick up games of Red Dragon Inn tonight and that is a game we’ve gotta get in on! I bet we can bring some booze and get it into a real drinking game.”

Dean raised his eyebrows at that and smiled lopsidedly. “A good drink is always a yes. Now let’s get going.”  
__________

The drive had been uneventful and their arrival in the early afternoon at the convention center was a surprise for Dean. It seemed pretty normal at first, they parked in the garage and started climbing out of the Impala. It got weird when they hit the elevator and a Ring Wraith walked in with a child-sized Frodo and Samwise. The next couple looked pretty normal, except the conspicuous pointy ears and Star Fleet badges.

By the time Charlie and Dean had finished checking in, Dean was pretty sure he’d seen the entire clone army, a few jedi, most of the fellowship, some trekkies, and a ton of other people he hadn’t had time to identify, as well as all the normally clothed people. He was pretty sure he was staying in a room next to Gandalf and Aragorn, who appeared to be together and on the other side, Charlie was trying to pick up this cute girl dressed up like she was from WoW. This was going to be an interesting weekend and he still hadn’t even seen the promised Vader.  
__________

Dean was anxious to get out and see what cons were all about after Charlie’s stories during the drive here, but before he could leave she grabbed him by the arm.

“You can’t go out just looking like that! The badge isn’t enough, so I got you something…”

She stretched out a little bag from some no-name comics store. As Dean opened it up, he saw a dark grey t-shirt. But when he pulled it out, the front was a great big Batman logo.

“Welcome to geekdom, Dean.”

He wrapped her into a hug and then started stripping his shirts off to change.

“Dude, lady still here and not one wanting to catch this show. You’re not my type, Dean.”

“Then just don’t look! I gotta get the new shirt on before I head out, right? “

Once the shirt was on, Dean threw his lanyard and badge back on and only one plaid shirt before attempting to leave.

“Dean… tags?”

He had the decency to blush a little bit, when he looked down and saw the size sticker still on the tight t-shirt and then when he rubbed the back of his neck he laughed when he found the itchy paper tag. After removing them, he spun around for inspection. “Better, oh great master?”

“Yep, you are ready to go, young padawan.”

They laughed and went out to pop Dean’s con cherry, one of the few he had left.  
__________

The duo made their way through artist alley and the marketplace. They walked past the panel rooms, even peeked their heads in for a couple minutes at a panel on gaming development. Before the DM of the Rings panel, they met up for dinner with some of their LARPing buddies, just some quick, but delicious, local burgers. Charlie and the guys chatted about how they were actually wearing their costumes tomorrow, something Dean had opted out of because it seemed to geeky for him. And as they chatted, Dean looked out the window to see the most flawless Batman he’d ever seen walking by. 

The body was muscular, but rather slim. He looked like a runner and the actual proportions looked more like Batman Beyond (shhh, he never watched that crappy cartoon ever, EVER). The outfit was like a catsuit, tight in all the right places. His utility belt was slung across his hip and Dean swore it made the walk look like a runway, the way it showed off his swaying hips. Even the mask was good. It was sleek, but well worked. Damn, the guy even pulled off the cape the outfit required. He hadn’t appreciated too many men over the course of his life, but recent events, this included, were starting to make him rethink that path. This was one fine-ass Batman, with a particularly fine ass.

Charlie’s hand waved inches from Dean’s eyes as he followed the Batman’s path and he had to turn back to the table and conversation.

“Dude, you listening? Drinks with some Red Dragon Inn and then after party in our room? That okay?”

“Oh, yeah, whatever. You said to not plan on sleeping, so definitely. But! Someone better bring some damn good drinks if we’re hosting.”

He smiled at the group before turning back to try and find his Batman, but the guy was already gone and Charlie was ready to take Dean off to his first convention panel ever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean is at dinner with Charlie and their fellow LARPers when he spots Batman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I am extending this story as planned, but now in an attempt to do NaNoWriMo. I am starting late because a friend convinced me... Because I am now aiming for NaNoWriMo's 50k I am extending the story, so the updates might be a bit odd. This chapter is basically an extension of Dean's dinner with Charlie where he sees the Batman cosplayer... So it is kind of part of what is already posted....
> 
> I feel like Dean is currently a bit OOC and my Charlie feels a bit off, but I will edit and try to make it better later. I hope people enjoy this. I might extend the first part, with Dean's arrival at the con and maybe even the drive there with Charlie...
> 
> Comments are totally appreciated!!!

The dinner had been good, Dean had devoured his bacon cheeseburger. It had been perfectly juicy, perfectly greasy, had a mound of bacon, and the cheese had been sharp cheddar or something awesome like that. What seemed to impress Charlie the most about dinner was that, despite Dean’s eating style, he hadn’t gotten any ketchup or other food bits on the new Batman shirt.

“Dude, nobody is gonna steal your burger. You don’t have to inhale it like that!”

Mid-chew, Dean slowed down and pursed his lips around the large bite currently inhabiting his mouth. As he raised his eyebrows and tilted his head, in a very clear ‘really?’ Charlie’s joking glare started crumbling into all out hysterics. When he rolled his eyes, the other LARPers started cracking up too. He swallowed the perfect bite and just stared at his tablemates like they were crazy.

“Really guys? Really? This burger is like heaven. In fact, it’s better than heaven. This burger is like heaven is supposed to be. Just because you have never enjoyed a proper sandwich and really experienced the pleasure that is this burger, doesn’t mean you need to judge me. Pretty soon you are all gonna have little salads in weird plastic containers that you shake with dressing, like Sammy.”

For some reason, this just made them laugh more. One of the guys even choked on a french fry he was trying to eat. While he choked and Dean tried to pretend he wasn’t about to start laughing too, Charlie managed to barely stop herself from falling out of her chair.

“Oh my fucking god, Dean! Stop, we don’t want any casualties!” The words were barely comprehensible, as it seemed like she hadn’t taken a proper breath in the entire time she had been laughing.

He pushed what he was chewing into one cheek and said, “Then eat your own goddamn meal and leave me to enjoy this burger in peace.” He just swallowed and looked down at his burger after that and with a quick “It’s okay baby, they just don’t understand how delicious you are.” And then he took another bite. He moaned softly at how good it was and just kept on eating.

Eventually the laughter stopped completely, as the rest of the group went back to eating their own food and discussing the weekend’s festivities. Dean was looking forward to his Star Wars RPG thing, though he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to be doing. He had signed up to play a bounty hunter. Smuggler hadn’t seemed to be his schtick (though he thinks he would be a mighty fine Han Solo if you asked him) and jedi was just too goody-two-shoes. So bounty hunter it was. He could pick and choose his bounties and in a way he got to work for himself. Plus fucking Boba Fett is awesome.

While he thought about his badass exploits in a galaxy far, far away, he was staring out the window. And that was when he walked by.

Charlie had promised Darth Vader. She had promised hot chicks in cosplay. But this. This was perfection. This was Batman. And not like crappy fake muscles or poorly fitted fabric. This man was Batman. Dean wouldn’t have been surprised to see the guy climb into the Batmobile and run off to fight crime. This guy was awesome.

The mask was sculpted like art. The details were amazing. No weird gaps between his face and the mask. No awkward raccoon eyes or whatever at the eye holes.

The costume was fitted like a glove. It looked like a cat suit. No spare fabric anywhere. The way it hugged the guys chest, holy crap. The guy was muscular, but really lean. He looked like a runner, maybe a bit of a swimmer. The fabric stretched pleasantly across his collarbone and then down over his flat stomach.

Dean may have almost stabbed himself in the eye with a ketchup-covered fry, but he didn’t think anybody saw, so it didn’t happen. The cause of this embarrassing thing-that-totally-didn’t-happen? As Dean’s eyes had roamed past the gorgeous Batman logo on the guy’s chest, he had slowed to skim over the way the fabric was clinging to the very eye-catching hip bones. And then the utility belt did him in. This perfect piece of craftsmanship had him drooling (if anyone asks, it was the burger). It looked like it was real metal, fully functioning, and loaded with Batman’s toys. The belt was slung low on his hips, but very firmly in place. It did nothing to hide what came next.

That costume really did seem like it was almost painted on. Dean could see everything the way it molded over the guys dick. Dean was starting to think that there was nothing on underneath that costume because there is no way that it wouldn’t be showing in wrinkles or something. The guy’s junk lead Dean’s eyes down to the really nicely shaped, muscular legs. And then, wow, holy shit, Dean had never thought that he’d be into high boots on men, but yeah, they were doing things for him he didn’t even know could still happen (not since puberty ended anyway). He shifted a bit uncomfortably, adjusting himself as discreetly as possible under the table. Yeah, Charlie probably wouldn’t appreciate him having a boner at dinner.

The guy was just walking past the restaurant’s window and as he passed and started walking away. Dean noticed the cape. He had never honestly thought that capes worked well off the page of the comics or outside the cartoon, but this cape was working. With the really confident and quick pace the guy was walking at, the cape billowed out behind him like the night trailing behind. A crowd of people was approaching, probably not con-goers with the way they were gaping at the perfect costume, so Batman turned slightly and swept the cape out of the way. Dean said a silent thank you to the crowd because as the cape moved to the side, he got a great view of the guy’s fantastic ass. The belt rested perfectly above his ass and Dean couldn’t think of a better sight ever.

Then he was gone. The cape and the mask and Batman completely ninjaed into the crowd. Dean was now practically sitting backwards in his chair and Charlie was staring with one eyebrow raised. He moved so he was facing the table once more and he picked up a fry and pointedly ignored Charlie’s face.

Finally, one of the group got up to leave, Charlie pulled out her cell and checked the time. “Frack! Dean we have to get going or we will never get a good seat for that DM of the Rings panel!” With that Charlie was slinging her bag over her shoulder and pushing out from the table.

Dean shoved one last fry into his mouth and got up to join her as she practically ran out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean makes a friend during a trip to the bathroom. He's a smooth talker when it comes to picking up women to bring home, but making a friend in a convention bathroom is not his forte.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, not edited. Just trying to get shit out for NaNoWriMo... Hopefully I'll get to go back and edit. I hope you enjoy it. Feedback is always welcome!

Charlie was half-running down the sidewalk, dodging pedestrians like she was in one of her video games. Dean was impressed, but barely paying attention as he looked around in hopes of catching up to that awesome Batman. He had to stop after he almost clobbered some girl, watching where you are going might be important after all.

He followed behind Charlie as she maneuvered through the crowd. Somehow she didn’t bump into anyone or crash into any giant costume weapons. Dean had almost lost an eye, he couldn’t figure out how she did it, maybe she was psychic or something. She closed in on the doors labeled ‘Panel Room 6’ and just pushed in. She was really comfortable here and Dean kind of felt like a fish out of water. Fake it til you make it Winchester. Just follow her lead.

There weren’t many people in the room yet, just some people fiddling with the AV equipment and three people chatting in some of the seats. Charlie plopped down right in the front row and patted the chair next to her, indicating that Dean should sit.

“If you wanna ask any good questions or try and get an invite to hang out with the people on the panel, you gotta get the good seats. Tonight, we have the best seats.”

She looked smug, like she had defeated an enemy easily. Maybe she had? Dean wasn’t sure but maybe the other congoers are the enemy and good seats at good panels and events were the ultimate prize. He had seen one absolutely absurd line going into one of the big auditoriums. For something so geeky, this con seemed like a really big deal.

“Hey, I’m gonna go find a bathroom. Save my seat?” At that, Charlie just rolled her eyes because obviously she would save his seat. Charlie was very very intense about Dean getting a proper con experience. He had a nagging feeling that she was collecting his con V-card or something. Is that even a thing? He had no idea, but she had gone on and on and on about all the things he needed to do at his first con and all the things he would see and she was over-the-moon that he had actually decided to come.

The people talking looked at him as he walked back out the door, but only in passing before going back to their conversation. It sounded to him like they were talking about which characters they would want to play if they were to roleplay Lord of the Rings. Dean laughed a little. He thought it was a pretty easy choice. Aragorn is clearly the most badass of the characters and he ends up being king. No discussion needed. The second choice, if someone beat him to Aragorn would be Samwise. It sounds lame, but Sam knows how to be brave despite just being a side character. Sam is awesome and nobody could ever convince Dean otherwise.

He pushed the door open and paused just outside. His eyes roamed over the crowd in the hallway. He saw some intense fantasy outfits. One chick had this crazy dress: low cut neckline, lined in fur, bell sleeves, big skirt, the front of the skirt nothing but criss-crossing belts. Dean liked that costume a lot, enough that finding out where it is from might be worthwhile. The thought passed through his mind, but it was followed by not quite as good as that Batman earlier. He ignored the afterthought and continued looking at the people. His people, as Charlie had said. There were Trekkies galore, probably enough to work the Enterprise. There had been some great Star Trek merch in the vendor’s room and Dean was planning on sneaking down in the morning. LARPing gear outside of LARPing might be too geeky for Dean right now, but he was pretty sure that getting a Star Fleet uniform was perfectly respectable. And Sam never needed to find out.

The click of the door sliding shut snapped Dean from his reverie. He shook his head and actually looked around for the bathroom. This place was huge. Three floors, one huge auditorium, a hotel attached, about 20 conference rooms and more rooms than Dean could imagine using. The convention did seem to be using them though. So far, the only rooms not hosting some panel, event, screening, or game was a nurse’s station and he saw a break room for the staff. This place was crazy.

Some guy with fairly large black wings on his costume finished his conversation and started moving down the hallway. The wings weren’t really practical as far as Dean could tell, but they were definitely large enough to hide anything you wanted. He knew because the guy’s costume had been blocking the signs for the bathrooms. He headed for the men’s room and only paused once to admire an impressive Lord of the Rings group cosplay. Definitely Aragorn, no question on who he’d be.

In the bathroom, he could see a giant sword, he’s pretty sure that it’s another buster sword because Charlie had pointed one out earlier. The guy with the sword was washing his hands and gave Dean a nod as he left. While Dean was in the bathroom, he could hear some bumping around in one one of stalls and some cursing. “SON OF A FUCK NO GODDAMNIT!!!” It wasn’t exactly making it easy to take a piss, but he wasn’t about to find a different bathroom.

When he zipped up and started washing his hands, the stall opened. Out came Han Solo pretending to be a Storm Trooper. Like the guy was clearly Han when he was sneaking around and Dean was blown away. “Your costume is awesome! It sounds like it must be a pain in the ass to get in and out o….” FUCK! You don’t talk to random strangers in the bathroom! As he trailed off, he rubbed at his neck in blatant embarrassment.

The Han cosplayer looked at him for a minute, like he was deciding if Dean was worth acknowledging. Finally, he nodded. “Yeah, the fucking suit is awkward as hell to maneuver in these stupidly small stalls.” He started putting the helmet between his knees to hold while he washed his hands.

“Dude, mind if I hold the helmet for you? I gotta see it up close and it sounds like you need a break from costume difficulty. Plus, I can’t leave Han Solo in trouble if I can help it.”

The guy looked up at Dean, eyebrows raised and eyes wide with surprise. “Yeah… Uhh, you can hold it, thanks. And wow, you are like one of three people who has figured out my costume.”

The helmet in hand, Dean froze. Was it that weird to be able to recognize the guy’s costume?

“Most people seem to think I’m just a storm trooper and that I just happen to look like Han Solo. I left my Chewbacca outside with my friends. He’s just a small plushy version, but he’s handcuffed and it helps people figure it out.”

“Uhhh… yeah… Well, Han is one of my personal heroes…. And, your outfit is, uhhh, well awesome.”

The guy was drying his hands off and giving Dean another appraising look. “This is your first con isn’t it?”

“Uh, yeah, what gave it away?”

“Well, the fact that you stopped in the middle of your sentence at the start and that you seem uncomfortable with the fact you knew my costume.”

“Sorry… My friend brought me along. I guess I like ‘geeky’ stuff, but my dad was all marines and football and so I just… I’m not a geek. But, uh, she got me to, I guess, openly like the stuff? She got me and my brother LARPing and Charlie and I bonded over the geeky stuff. So I’m getting used to the idea of ‘being a geek.’ She said that I had to come, these are ‘my people’ and yeah…. Wow, sorry for rambling… And that probably sounded a bit… uh mean? There’--”

“You’re good man. You gotta get outta the closet sometime. And even if you seem a bit judgmental of us ‘geeks,’ I think you’ve got plenty of us beat. So welcome to the geekdom. I’m Andy.”

“Dean.”

“Well, it’s cool chilling in the bathroom with you here, but I’ve got people waiting for me. So, uhh…” he nodded toward the exit.

“Oh yeah… I have a panel to get to and Charlie is waiting. She’s keeping the ‘best seats’ for us. Uhh here, the helmet is awesome.”

Andy took his helmet back and started walking toward the door. “What panel are you going to?”

“The DM of the Rings panel. The Chainmail Bikini guys are brilliant. I’ve never even played D&D and I thought it was hilarious. I’m actually pretty excited about it.”

“Oh man, DM of the Rings is hysterical. They fucking nailed it. Gaming is like that so often. Back home I don’t have many people that wanna get into this stuff with me, so when we do game it really is just like that.” Andy’s laugh was really honest, Dean liked this guy.

“What are you off to? Anything worthwhile?”

“Well, we were thinking about attending the dance, gotta love an occasion full of socially awkward people dancing to music from games and tv shows. But the line is so fucking long, we might bail and wander around.”

“Oh… yeah. Well, ummm… Ever heard of Red Dragon Inn? Charlie says it’s a great game and I guess someone is hosting a room for it at like 9:30 I think and we’re going and having an after party in our room.” Dean didn’t think he had ever spoken so fast or felt so embarrassed ever. He’d moved a lot growing up and he wasn’t ever really one to bother making friends to only know them for a month or two. But, picking up girls had been easy. He used his most charming smile, a pet name, a cute line or two, and voila, he had a date and enough entertainment for his stint in that town. For some reason, trying to do this friends thing was a lot harder.

“Red Dragon Inn is great! Who doesn’t love a drinking game, real or fake? Yeah, I’ll make sure to stop by and bring some booze. And we haven’t found any parties to attend tonight, so if you don’t mind me bringing my friend, then the after party sounds great too.

“Awesome! Well, I’ve got to get back to Charlie… I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Later, man.” Andy waved and Dean walked back to the panel room. He heaved a sigh of relief as he opened the door and slid back in. It felt like he’d just spent a decade on that bathroom trip, but nobody else had shown up and the AV people seemed to be just finishing up, so it must not have been very long at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, sorry that I am wicked slow getting to the actual Destiel. I really enjoy Dean and picturing him so out of his element, but also completely where he belongs just inspires me... So yeah, I hope you keep reading. There will be more hot cosplayer soon.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just before the panel starts

Charlie waved to Dean, as he closed the door behind him. One of the girls talking was arguing rather loudly about the merits of being Pippin. “He is BRAVE and he learns to fight and YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND! Pippin may not be the hero or some badass, but he is fucking AWESOME and you are stupid!” She was practically shouting and her flailing arms almost smacked her friend in the face. Dean snorted and tried to hold in his laughter.

“Pippin is pretty great, but if I’ve gotta be a hobbit, I’d be Sam. But, Pippin is a close second.” He winked at her as she looked up. At first, she looked a bit offended, then surprised, then she smiled broadly and blushed.

She looked down a bit and paused mid-flail, “Thanks… Uhh, Sam is brave, but Pippin is so funny…”

The other two in the group were gawking like it was weird of him to butt in, but they also might have just been surprised that a full-grown man, not covered in pimples, was talking to them. He honestly wasn’t quite sure. Maybe it was the wink. The wink was probably too much, he shouldn’t do that, it seemed like he was hitting on the girl probably. But flirting was basically his primary setting. He mentally shrugged and kept walking.

Charlie’s eyebrows had moved so high they were almost on the back of her head. “Dean, I think you are becoming one of us. I didn’t know you liked Sam. But, I think those girls seem a little young for you. Just because what happens at a con, stays at a con, doesn’t mean that you should do things you wouldn’t normally do. Case and point? That tattoo I mentioned.”

Her tilted head and pursed lips said everything. He couldn’t forget the time she mentioned the tattoo. When she first described it, he definitely was thinking that it sounded a bit not sexy, but he had thought about it and he really couldn’t actually complain about any tattoo involving Leia.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny, Charlie. We both know I’m not going there. And yeah, Sam is awesome. Without Sam, Frodo never would have made it. Frodo was a little bitch and Sam was the real hero there. But, I’m more of an Aragorn-man-of-action-and-badassery kind of guy.”

He plopped into the chair Charlie had been saving him and paused to take a deep breath. “And yeah, I guess I am becoming one of you. I just met a guy in the bathroom-”

“OH MY GOD DEAN! Not that! I thought you were still undeci-”

“Fucking hell Charlie, not like that. He was dressed as Han Solo dressed as a Storm Trooper. But, uh I guess we talked and apparently the fact that I knew what he was dressed as was impressive… Anyway, I invited him to that Red Dragon Inn thing we are going to and maybe to the after party in our room?”

“Dude, are you asking a question? I wasn’t there. I don’t know if you invited him to anything. But, if my padawan has branched out and managed to make a friend, who am I to complain. I am so proud of you Dean Skywalker.”

He laughed loudly at that, “You don’t quite look like the Obi Wan Kenobi I remember:”

Somehow, Charlie managed to hold her disapproving glare for a whopping ten seconds before she also cracked up at the image of her with the white hair and robes. “Use the force, Dean~”

Dean was doubled over, holding his stomach with one arm and holding himself up on his knee with the other. Charlie was tipped over into the chair beside her. The three girls had stopped their conversation and were staring. At least the chuckled a little at the spectacle.

“God, I don’t think I’ve laughed as much as I have tonight, maybe ever? This is great and it has barely started.”

“Mmm, thanks for coming. Now! We must figure out more stuff to do!”

She pulled out the convention schedule and guide and started reading. Dean decided that that was probably a good idea. He should figure out where his games and stuff were going to be and what else he might want to do. He managed to mark off where the Star Wars RPG was going to be and where he could find the Warhammer beginners games. After that he found a couple other thing that seemed interesting, but he wasn’t 100% sure when his two gaming things would end and he didn’t know if he wanted to go to anything alone. He might ask Charlie what she was doing and maybe he’d ask Andy, if it didn’t seem too weird.

He was contemplating the weirdness level of asking someone he just met to let him tag along, when people started coming in. It wasn’t a lot at first. In fact, only about five or so more people came in before the guys from Chainmail Bikini arrived. They were doing stuff to get organized up front and occasionally making a comment or a joke while they did it.

About ten minutes before the panel was scheduled to start, people really started arriving. The room was supposed to hold 50 people and Dean wasn’t sure how many seats were set up, but the room was mostly full when the panel began.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Playing Red Dragon Inn

The panel was interesting enough. The guys were just as funny in real life as they managed to be in their comics. They talked about how they made the comics and showed some of the other stuff they had worked on. Dean really enjoyed it. He didn’t ask any questions, but really he didn’t know what you are supposed to ask at these things. They finished up around 8:45 and Dean leaned back into his chair and stretched. He’d been sitting for way too long.

“So, I’m thinking we run to the store, grab some beer for Red Dragon Inn and get our butts back here to play some games and have some drinks?”

“Definitely, my legs need a stretch and some beers sound awesome.” He had heard that you aren’t technically supposed to be drinking in the actual event rooms, but a lot of the stuff at night is age restricted to get the underage people out of the way. To Dean, that sounded an awful lot like they don’t actually supervise these things 100% and they know people will drink, so the kids go to bed and the adults get to play.

The store wasn’t nearly far enough away to really get the stiffness out of Dean’s legs, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. He managed to find some decent beer and paid while he waited for Charlie to finish picking out her stuff.

He was a bit surprised with the load she seemed to be buying. He saw vodka, rum, schnapps, Smirnoff Ice, amaretto, Chambord, Coke, and the cheapest sketchiest looking tequila he had ever seen.

At his wide eyes, Charlie just said, “What? We have to at least match the drinks to the game a little bit.” Dean raised an eyebrow at that. “Okaaaay, I know, it’s a lot. But, I didn’t pay for it all. The guys chipped in and we figured we needed to start the weekend off right.”

After Charlie paid, somehow, Dean ended up carrying a bunch of it. In fact, he felt like he was going to get in trouble because Charlie had stuffed what she could into her bag she was carrying and then pushed the rest into a spare backpack she pulled out of her bag. Apparently, sneaking booze into the con, outside of your room, was a lot like sneaking booze around a high school.

Dean had rolled his eyes at Charlie, but he humored her and carried the bag full of contraband into the convention center. Surprise, surprise, nobody even looked twice at them as they walked in with their bags.

Red Dragon Inn was happening on the first floor in one of the rooms by the hotel. There were hordes of people near the room, but it seemed like most of them were heading to or from the hotel. They managed to get clear of the masses and into the room without too much trouble.

When they got inside, they saw two of their fellow LARPers and Dean spotted Andy and the guy he assumed was Andy’s friend. It looked like Andy and friend were helping Eric and Thom set up some of the tables. There was a guy unpacking boxes upon boxes from a duffel bag. Charlie went right over to help the guy unpack and get boxes onto the table, while Dean went over to help move tables and chairs around.

“Hey. Glad you came! I assume this is the friend you were talking about?”

The friend had on ripped jeans, a metal t-shirt, and a plaid button-down, with the sleeves cut off both shirts, of course. And his hair was a mullet, hard to not notice that.

“Heyyyyy! You must be Dean! Yeah, I am Andy’s friend, Dr. Badass is in the house! But, you can just call me Ash. Nice to meet you.”

Dean was surprised by the energy and enthusiasm Ash seemed to have. Andy had been a lot more sedate and Ash looked like he should be angry and rebelling against the world or something. But, he liked the Metallica shirt and he couldn’t complain about the enthusiasm since the guy did seem pretty badass.

“Yeah, I’m Dean. I like the hair.” He gave a quick nod of respect to the mullet as he said it.

“It’s a classic! Business in the front, party in the back!”

Dean put the bag of booze down onto one of the tables and started pulling chairs toward the bigger group of tables the guys had already set up. While they worked, Andy apologized for Ash being a bit on the odd and crazy side, but he swore that Ash was a great guy.

It didn’t take too long to finish pushing tables together, especially as people came in and helped get everything set up. Pretty soon, Dean was seated at a table of eight people. Charlie, Dean, Andy, and Ash sat with Charlie and Dean’s LARPing friends, Eric, Thom, and Kat, as well as one other person that none of them knew.

Red Dragon Inn was really easy to pick up and learn. Charlie was Fiona the Volatile, which suited her. Dean ended up playing Dimli the Dwarf. Ash was Gog the Half-Orc and Andy played Gerki the Thief. The game was absolutely hilarious, especially with Ash at the table. Every time he played a card or had a card played on him, he made sure to roleplay Gog perfectly.

“GOG NO LIKE SWILL! WHO GIVE GOG SOAP WATER?!?!?!”

Dean was clinging to the table for dear life as he laughed at Ash’s roar.

THUD!!!

Ash’s raised arm holding the mug he’d been holding had dropped and Ash had slumped forward to crash onto the table. Dean fell out of his chair and just sat on the floor laughing at Ash’s dramatic exit from the game.

When he had waited about a minute, he raised his head. “Okay guys, that killed my constitution. I’m out. But, I’ll be back and I’ll be back with the alcohol and glasses for our next round.”

Ash walked away whistling something that sounded like “Highway to Hell,” as Dean dragged himself back into his chair and everyone tried to relearn how to breathe. They managed to finish out the game, with Charlie making a clean sweep of everyone else. She had taken Dean out with an instinctive punch; he thought Fiona might be his favorite character.

Before starting the second round, they decided on drinks to match the cards and got their stuff set up. Dean had to say that the sketchy tequila being drank straight for the Orcish Rotgut might be the most appropriate drink title that Dean had ever heard. He was really hoping that he didn’t end up with that card in his drink pile.

Dean didn’t end up getting the Orcish Rotgut tequila, but he did somehow manage Peanut Butter Jelly shots with a chaser of whiskey. Four shots in and he was in pretty funny shape, which did not help what happened mid-game.

The door swung open and Dean tried to turn around in his chair to see, but instead of succeeding at placing his arm on the back of the chair he missed and sort of smacked himself in the torso with the chair. He was laughing about it as he saw who was standing in the door.

“Hey, Batman, we match!!!!” He yelled out, pointing at the Batman logo on his shirt. Batman looked amused, if the smirk on the man’s face was a good indicator. That smirk stopped Dean’s laugh short. He was mesmerized by it. And he was probably staring. Maybe with his jaw dropped.

“That we do. But, I don’t think I need another me. How about you be my Robin instead?”

Dean had the drunken decency to blush and stutter, “I-I, uhhh, I’m no boy wonder, b-but I think I could be your boy wonder.”

He wasn’t entirely certain how much of that was even understandable or if it had been completely slurred. He also wasn’t sure what he just agreed to. But, that Batman costume skimmed over the guys perfect frame just too damn good and now Dean knew he was staring, but Batman was staring right back at him.

“Eh-hem! Hey, Boy Wonder, I think it’s your turn,” Charlie interrupted.

“Oh, uh yeah! Ummmm ‘Gambling? I’m in!’”

“Dude, gambling is such a bad idea in your state… We’re gonna steal all your gold.”

After he played his card, he turned back toward the door, but it was empty. The moment was over.

His Batman had left.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after is hell and Dean and Charlie have some serious talk

After Batman had left, Dean was a bit depressing for a couple turns, but after his third beer, on top of everything he had drank before, he was getting pretty laugh-happy again. They had a lot of fun the rest of the night, not that Dean would remember much of it the next day.

When Dean did wake up to an extremely irritating alarm, he was ready to kill someone or more likely just die right there. He hadn’t drank that much in a long time. He isn’t entirely sure that he has ever drank that much before. He tried to recollect the memories of the previous night as he listened to the grumbling and nerd-cussing from the bed next to his.

He remembered Ash’s Gog. In fact, he also remembers Ash’s Eve the Sorceress. The images flashing through his head made him want to laugh, but even the beginning of a laugh had his head pounding. He rubbed at his head and swore under his breath, the fuck anybody was thinking drinking like that, he would never know.

“‘ere’s pain ki’es ‘n th’stan’.”

It seemed like Charlie wasn’t much better off than Dean, but it almost sounded like she had something about sweet relief in the form of pills on the table between their beds. He reached out an arm toward the table and grasped around the surface. Eventually, he knocked something over and it made a rattling sound, which must make it the promised pain killers.

Child proof also meant hangover proof as far as Dean could tell, but the time it took him to get the bottle open also let a memory come back to him. There is water on the floor next to his bed. He grabbed at the water and thanked god or whatever is watching over him that it was in a bottle and that he didn’t spill it. The water was still cool and the sensation was mind-blowingly wonderful, even just on his hand. Once he had the water, he decided that rubbing the cold relief on his pounding head sounded like an awesome idea and so he placed the cold, damp bottle against his head, just above his eyes.

“Ch’rlie?”

“Mmrrmph?”

“Le’s never mix real drinks w’th fantasy drinking games ever again.”

“Agreed, Boy Wonder.”

“Is that gonna stick? Am I eternally fucked?”

“I dunno, Robin. Are you gonna find your dreamy Batman and get eternally fucked?”

Her words surprised him so much he almost choked on the pills he was finally taking. As it was, enough water had almost come out his nose that he could feel the burning from it.

“Fuck! Sonuva!!! Charlie, I was drinking.

“And, I don’t think he was flirting… I mean, he seemed to be joking, probably thought my drunk-ass was funny.”

“Dude? Were you even there? That guy was fucking you with his eyes and you didn’t even notice? It felt like we were walking in on the two of you and it was just a couple sentences.”

He thinks he would have opened his eyes in surprise, but he was busy massaging his temples and waiting for the pain killers to start killing his pain.

“Was he the one you were staring at when we were at dinner?” At Dean’s startled movement (a quick head turn that left him filled with regret), she huffed, “Do you think I’m an idiot? You were practically walking out the door after someone. I only saw him from behind, but I take it that that is the guy?”

Dean was mentally kicking himself. Charlie had started to get Dean to be a lot more honest about a lot of things. Obviously she was succeeding at the geek part because he was here at the con, but that wasn’t the only thing she was working on with him. She had caught him having a moment with a guy in a bar. Well, the guy seemed to think they were having a moment and Dean just thoroughly embarrassed himself. He had tripped over a table and his own feet and had failed to even get out a sentence.

So maybe it isn’t just making friends that Dean is bad at. He may or may not have an issue with guys in general. After he had gotten to the table, Charlie had asked who his ‘friend’ was and she had leered while she said it. They hadn’t ever really discussed his preferences or anything, but she seemed pretty damn observant. He tried to say it was nothing, that he wasn’t into guys, the usual, but she seemed about as convinced as the guy at the bar. She made sure to note a couple guys she had seen him check out before and it got harder and harder to call it a misunderstanding.

Charlie was amazing. She didn’t push it. She would hint and give subtle pushes. Sometimes she gave the occasional comment about some guy being hot, despite the fact they both knew she couldn’t be less interested in that guy’s junk if she tried. Over time, he had been working on it in his head. He does like girls. He knows that for a fact. He just has issues with whether he actually likes men too. He was pretty much sure it was a yes. But, he hasn’t tried to pick up a guy and he’s not really sure how he’d feel if he brought a guy home.

“Dean?” Charlie pulled Dean out of his thoughts, that apparently had taken a while.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, that was definitely the guy. But I probably won’t see him again.” He was surprised by how much that disappointed him. He shouldn’t be upset that he won’t get to meet some guy in a great costume. Yeah, the outfit was awesome. Even the voice had worked, a bit rough, almost like he had swallowed sandpaper. Dean hadn’t even gotten to talk properly.

“Oh fuck, I really embarrassed myself didn’t I? I must have seemed like a complete idiot.”

“It wasn’t that bad. And with the tension there, I think that he’d let it go. And maybe you’ll see him again this weekend.” She breathed, like she was getting ready to say something and Dean could hear that she didn’t know if he wanted her to say it. “And. I could ask around. His costume was epic, if there aren’t 50 million pictures of him in his costume, may the gods strike me dead where I lay. But, seriously, I can find out.”

That helped. “Yeah, uhh, okay. Don’t send out your network just yet. Maybe I’ll see him again. If I don’t, well, you said there will be pictures right? I’ve got time to decide.”

“Yes, yes you do. But, I bet you would make a really good Nightwing to his Batman. Though really, the outfits might work better in reverse… Anyway, if we want to get some greasy anti-hangover breakfast food in us before we have to game, we have to brave the light and noise of the world.”

“Fuck yes. I need a mound of bacon, some fried eggs, and some greasy home fries. And all the coffee we can find.”

Showering and getting dressed was more effort than either of them would have liked to admit, but they did it and got going. It was a bit easier for Dean with the realization that Batman might be interested and he still had two days to bump into him at the con.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just breakfast with Charlie and Dean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry guys. I like the boring scenes that are just Dean being Dean. Like I can go on for hours and days and lifetimes on Dean in the little moment. I am doing my best to not bore you all to tears, but skipping around a lot makes me bamboozled.

The little restaurant in the hotel was doing a buffet for breakfast during the con. Dean has never been more thankful in his entire life and everyone that knew him knew that he thought buffets were the greatest things on earth. Charlie had filled her plate with scrambled eggs and cantaloupe wedges and sausages, but it looked fairly reasonable. Dean, on the other hand, had a mountain on his plate. The bottom appeared to be scrambled eggs, then came a layer of sausages, then the layer of bacon, then the tater tots, then more bacon (after he decided he needed more). The plate was tottering dangerously by the time he made it to the table and Charlie laughed at the sight. When she winced in pain because of the hangover Dean just smirked with a clear serves-you-right look in his eyes.

He needed coffee and he needed it now. His hands had been too full to get his coffee during the first run, so he walked back over to get some of the heavenly elixir. As he filled his cup, he noticed the tray of pancakes and decided that he needed some of those too. So, when he arrived at the table where Charlie awaited him, she looked from the greasy mountain already on the table to the syrupy pile he was now carrying as though Dean was either terrifying or amazing or maybe both.

“Shut up. Breakfast is awesome. Only things better are bacon cheeseburgers and pie. Leave me to breakfast. Just keep on eating.” She rolled her eyes as she sipped her coffee, but she returned to slowly eating the food in front of her.

Dean had been worried that Charlie was going to bring Batman up again while they ate, but breakfast was blissfully silent as the two nursed hangovers and coffee and finished the greasy hangover food. Even though she didn’t ask, Dean did think about Batman. He was remembering the way the guy had looked at Dean when he was busy making an idiot of himself. Maybe Charlie was right, the guy had been flirting. But, was he even ready to admit and act on his attraction to a guy? Thinking was stupidly difficult and he wishes he could stop. Why someone hadn’t already found the mind’s off switch, Dean would never know.

“Eh-HEM.” Charlie cleared her throat deliberately and was making a face like she had asked a question and been staring at him waiting for the answer. The noise had startled Dean and apparently it was really obvious to Charlie, who wasn’t above teasing him in the least. “Alfred to Boy Wonder. Penny for your thoughts? Or, ya know, you could just answer my question about what you are planning to do this morning.”

“That, uhh, I-” He knew he was digging a hole and making it obvious what he had been thinking about, but he wasn’t sure how to recover. Confident and capable in his speaking abilities? Yes. After a fumbled moment? He was basically a baby who can’t walk or talk. “Fuck. Okay, uh, yeah. I signed up for that Warhammer thing this morning, the beginners’ session. But that isn’t for a while… I was thinking of hitting the vendor’s room, to-” He widened his eyes a bit and stopped before he outted himself.

“Tooooooo what?” He should have known that she wouldn’t let him off that easy. Charlie was his friend. Charlie had invited him. Charlie considered him one of her people. One of these people. He could admit that he wanted to get some Star Trek stuff to her, couldn’t he? “C’mon Dean, I can help you find whatever it is that you might be looking for. I have done this a million times and I might even be able to find you a better deal.”

That wasn’t her judging face, it was a bit scolding, but she just wanted to help. He let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes for a second. He concentrated on the little things, the feel of his lashes against his cheeks and the steamy air wafting from his coffee into his face. “Okay, I want to get some stuff from Star Trek. Like, uh, maybe, a. I don’t know.”

The look on Charlie’s face made Dean regret every life choice that had lead him to this moment. He regretted the tv marathons in cheap motel rooms, where he memorized every second of Star Wars and watched every Trek episode. She looked like it was Christmas. The expression was undoubtedly worse than judgment. She was fucking excited. It started as a smirk and a glint in her eye, but it was growing into a smile that was capable of splitting her face in half.

“You want a Star Fleet badge! You want a shirt! What kind? Brave enough and think you are important enough to get a red shirt and not die as soon as someone sees you? Or maybe you are a yellow shirt kind of guy. You don’t really have original Kirk going, but I think you have reboot-Kirk pretty well. Or maybe blue. Do you want to get some ears and be Spock?!”

He pinched the bridge of his nose and then rubbed at his temples. Regret was going to be his new hobby and he would be doing this hobby every second for the rest of his life, from right that moment on. He stared into the swirls of his coffee like it would give him enlightenment, or at least an answer, while he finally replied.

“I was thinking that I’d like a yellow shirt and a Star Fleet badge. And yes, maybe I was thinking about being Kirk for the day.”

Charlie’s response seemed to indicate that Dean’s words had cured her hangover. She was laughing and smiling and Dean knew that she wasn’t laughing at him, but she was just damn happy that she had invited him and he was really embracing it.

“Finish that last coffee and we are off to embrace your inner geek with some epic merch.”

The feelings of regret and excitement warred within him as he downed the last of his coffee and prepared himself for what was bound to be an intense shopping experience.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean does his first cosplay as Captain Kirk of the ST reboot.

Charlie was essentially skipping the entire way to the vendor’s room and Dean still couldn’t figure out how she could move through the people without knocking anyone down. He was still barely scraping by without breaking someone’s elaborate costume or props. He was thankful that the dealers opened early, so people could shop before the day’s events got started, because fewer people would be here to see his shame.

They had walked through the aisles of vendors after they arrived, but to Dean it felt like it had been a million years ago. And, it seemed like the giant hall was even fuller than it was yesterday, despite the early time of day. Apparently, not all con attendees partied quite as hard as Charlie and her friends. The good news was that lots of people weren’t in costume or weren’t in costume yet, so less things for him to embarrass himself on in the room.

They passed by a lot of booths, only some of which really caught his attention. Charlie was on a mission and didn’t dawdle many places. The first place they stopped did have Star Fleet badges and lots of other accessories and small props, but she stopped to talk, it sounded like bartering, with the guy working the booth. While Dean zoned out of the conversation, he looked around at the room, well at the other side of the aisle, it was pretty impressive how high the booths went without toppling and crushing anyone. The shop across the way was selling steampunk stuff, which he had to admit was really cool. The weird Victorian thing wasn’t for him, but he couldn’t complain about the way it looked on other people, even if a bit overdone. When he got tired of staring at the passersby, he went back to paying attention to the booth he and Charlie were at.

He walked in amongst the merch again and looked at all the other stuff. There was some really great things to buy in here. Dean was particularly drawn to a badass lightsaber, but he wasn’t quite ready to put down the $200 the tag listed it as. But, he was a wiz with electronics and building things, so if it was possible for someone to make this awesome lightsaber, then he might be able to make his own at home. He was looking at some books on a fantasy role playing game called Supernatural, “based on the his series by Carver Edlund” it declared. He hadn’t really heard of it, but it looked kind of cool and it wouldn’t hurt to take a look.

“Enterprise to Dean! This shop is a no go, we gotta find somewhere else to get your stuff.” She looked to what Dean was holding and smiled. “We’ll make a role player out of you yet! I have heard good things about the Supernatural game, but I haven’t played it yet. I’ve heard that it works a lot like Deadlands, so a bit less strict than D&D, you might like it a lot. But, now is not the time. The good prices will be up tomorrow and for now we need to get you into the best Kirk get-up we can.”

The book slid easily back into its space on the shelf and Dean followed after Charlie. It was getting easier to admit that, if he had ever given himself the time, he really would be one of these people. He was already a pop culture reference fiend that specialized in epic (read: geeky) tv and movies and had he allowed himself any time to look at the other things beyond just watching the shows and movies, he would have really enjoyed all this crap Charlie has been getting him into.

The next couple booths that Charlie allowed them to stop at didn’t have the shirts they needed, but Charlie did find a flawless Star Fleet badge that Dean was now the proud owner of. Maybe not proud, he was working on burying the shame because he knew there was nothing wrong with liking the stuff you like, but still, years of drawing a line between him and the geeks was making it difficult.

Finally, she pulled Dean into a cosplay booth. Her lips quirked into a small smile when she announced what kind of shop this one was. He wasn’t sure he wanted to call himself a cosplayer. But, Charlie was rifling through the racks and it was quite clear that trying to stop her was hopeless.

The first shirt was the wrong size. The second looked too old school and they had already decided that he wasn’t a Shatner, he was much more of a Chris Pine (and he couldn’t complain about that fact because Chris Pine was fine whether you were attracted to men or not). The third seemed to be right, so Dean was holding it closer for Charlie to examine. The person working the booth hadn’t bothered them after Charlie made it clear that she knew what she was doing, but the guy came over to offer a small curtained fitting room, once they started making real progress.

Dean stood behind the curtain, the distinct feeling that Charlie was going to just walk in and give him something else to try had him a tad worried. His concerns hadn’t been wrong because after he pulled the shirt on and started to pull the curtain on, he almost crashed into Charlie.

“You have to have this under it!!!!” She just shoved more fabric into his arms and pushed him back as the she re-closed the curtain. He looked at the new items with concern. The first was the black half-collared undershirt from the new movies. Okay, that was an awesome addition, but he really didn’t want to buy tons of extra stuff. The second was pants.

“I am already wearing pants,” he called as he pulled the shirt back over his head to put on the undershirt too.

Charlie’s huff was an audible eye roll and he could hear her thinking he was a dumbass from through the curtain. “You, my young padawan, don’t understand at all. You are wearing jeans. Star Fleet officers don’t wear jeans. And, your ass will look great in those pants for when we find your Batman again.”

“You are ridiculous and I don’t need to buy an entire new outfit.”

“Just shut up, put on both shirts, pull those pants on, and get your pretty boy ass out here.”

He did as he was told because he knew that Charlie wasn’t letting him out of here until he had.

The undershirt tucked easily into the pants, which Charlie was right, they fit perfect and probably made his ass look awesome. The yellow shirt was awesome. It was textured just right to look like the shirts in the movie. It fit enough to pull a bit, but it hung nicely and rested against his stomach and hips in a way he knew people would look at. Hopefully Batman was into Star Trek.

“DEAN!!!! Oh my god!!! You are perfect. Get your butt over here and let me pin your Star Fleet badge on and maybe fix your hair.”

He stepped forward enough to let her pin the badge on and she thankfully didn’t stab the pin into his chest. Then she pulled his shoulder down, until he bent his knees enough that she could mess his hair up a bit. She sort of flattened it down at first, so it all sort of went straight to the front, then she started pushing it all straight back into a decent imitation of Chris Pine’s Kirk.

When Dean stepped in front of the mirror, he was pretty damn impressed. The shirt made him look good and the pants did good things for him, depending on how family friendly he wanted to be.

“Okay, I look great and you are right about the extra clothes, but I really don’t wanna pay for all of it.”

“That’s okay, I already did.”

He turned around and scrunched his face up. He could feel his eyebrows pulled together as much as they could be without becoming a unibrow. “You did what?”

“I made you come and it’s like so awesome that you are into this and I just had to. I had to make your first costume as good as it could. Plus, you need help getting Batman’s attention and I didn’t think I could get you into the bright green briefs that Robin would have required.”

Dean was getting choked up over a Star Trek costume, but Charlie was being awesome, despite the teasing. Maybe regret wasn’t going to be his permanent hobby.

“Yeah, wow, uh, I guess, thanks. Really, Charlie, thanks.”

“No problem, Dean. But next time clothes are involved I get to try stuff on too and we will have music for a montage. No. Arguing.”

He smiled. It was soft and happy. He had never wanted a sister, Sammy was difficult and wonderful enough, but Charlie was family that he was glad to have. “You know what Charlie? I think I can do that. You are awesome. And, of course, I love you.”

“I know. I’m awesome.”

Dean threw his clothes into the bag the booth gave him and breathed deeply before walking out where people could see him in his costume. Fuck it. These are my people and I am awesome and I want to be Captain Kirk.

When he stepped out, a part of him waited for staring or laughing or something, but people didn’t notice that much. He smiled hugely to himself and turned to look for Charlie who was watching him. It looked like her face was lit with pride, maybe he really was her padawan.

“Hey, Kenobi. I’m getting old waiting out here.” He winked at her and she laughed and followed after him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean heads to Warhammer and hangs with Ash a little. Dean might be a total geek about awesome miniatures and set pieces for Warhammer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY IF ANYONE ACTUALLY PLAYS WARHAMMER!!!! My dad played 40k when I was tiny and my husband and in-laws play (my husband plays vampire counts and my brother-in-law plays Skaven), but I find Warhammer hideously boring and would rather claw my eyes out than sit through a game. I really wish Dean didn't love strategy and crap, but I can't ignore my baby, even the parts I dislike. So, inaccuracies or vagueness in this chapter and the next are all me. I am trying to look up enough to not be a total failure at it.

Shopping was over and Dean was off to his Warhammer thing. Charlie had assured him that it was 100% his kind of thing. He had already been the strategic advisor to her Queen of Moondoor for a few months. He was brilliant at tactics, knowing where to move people and the best place for different kinds of fighters. Sammy had been surprised to say the least, but Charlie had embraced it and kept asking about different scenarios. Dean had risen to the challenge and started taking the “official” position soon after. Realistically, the LARPers didn’t perform the strategies very well, since it was just a game, but it was cool to have some idea of who should be doing what before rushing out onto the field.

Dean got to the hall early and walked in. He was a bit worried because Charlie wasn’t here for this, but he was going to do it just fine anyway. Plus, he’d gotten a few compliments in the hallway on how he makes a great Kirk and some people had even asked for a picture. The room was surprising to say the least. The chairs were all stacked to the side, not a single one placed out for use. The tables had been pushed together into fairly large groups and people were setting up on them.

The most surprising part of all was what he saw on the tables. It was amazing. He remembered going to the county fair when he was a kid and there had been this big permanent train display that had crazy intricate detail and was like looking at a real town. But, that had been permanent. These people were putting pieces onto one of the tables, showing that it was portable, though it was a lot of stuff, and Dean was standing in the doorway with his mouth open, staring in awe. The tables all looked different.

He walked up to the nearest set-up, letting the door close behind him. It had rolling hills across the middle and the entire group of tables was grassy and looked like a single surface from the top. On one end he saw a forest and the other were some mountains. What impressed him the most was the ruins in the middle. There were buildings crumbling and scorch marks and overgrown buildings. He was bending down to look closer, when a voice behind him scared the shit out of him.

“I see you appreciate a good paint job?”

Heart attacks and burgers never really crossed his mind, but after the near-heart attack Dean had just had, he was almost thinking that Sam was right and the burgers might be bad for his health. He still wasn’t giving up the burgers and he definitely wasn’t going to tell Sam he had even thought that.

“Huh? Paint job?” The guy just nodded his head and looked toward the display on the table and Dean looked at it again. “Wait! What? This is just paint? Seriously? Holy crap!!! How??? It’s amazing! And you guys brought all this with you?”

Dean’s outburst had the guy chuckling. “Well, yes, we didn’t make a shrink ray and destroy real buildings. And yeah, the boards had to be brought with us, thankfully none of the pieces broke.”

Dean didn’t have a response and he stood looking at the intricate pieces in silence. After a few moments of quiet, the guy spoke again, “We are doing a figure painting workshop slash class tomorrow afternoon, for the crazy congoers who stay as long as the convention center will let them. Around 2, come by and we can show you some stuff. Though, we will be focusing on the miniatures and not the sets, but you can probably get somebody to talk to you about it.”

“Deeeeeean!!!!! I didn’t know you were coming to this. Man, I woulda snuck in some PBRs for us if I’d known! And, Captain Kirk, nice fucking costume. I wouldn’t have thought of Kirk for you, but I’d certainly cast you for a youtube spoof of the new movies! You look great man!”

Ash had shown up behind him and today the guy looked almost exactly the same as the night before. Cut off sleeves, ripped jeans, mullet, the usual. He threw his arm around Dean and started pointing out the pieces he had brought.

“See the forest? Yeah, it’s mine. See the scorched earth? Also mine. If you look in the forest real close, there are fucking BIRDS in there man! It’s awesome, but you should see my army I brought! I think that you will love the dark elves.”

The other guy had walked away during Ash’s speech and Ash had started steering Dean toward a few tables that seemed laden with tons of tiny little things. As they got closer to the tables, Dean saw a piece of paper between each large group and that inside each large group, there were little squadrons or battalions or whatever they were called in Warhammer.

“See? There are the Vampire Counts. Over there are the High Elves and the Dwarves, ironic that they are together since they hate each other. Beside them are the various humans. The next table is where it gets interesting. I really like the Skaven, rat people, but someone else called dibs on bringing that army. Your standard orcs, goblins, oooooh, here are demons and Chaos! And finally at this last table, some unimportant crap and my beautiful Dark Elves! Look at the awesome paint job I did. Do you like the heraldry? I thought it fitting. Tree burning to ‘Ash’ and all”

Dean chuckled at Ash’s bad joke and started looking at the figures. They were really impressive. Ash had down a really good job at the colors. Dark elves, Charlie had said something about them, but Dean couldn’t quite remember. But, Ash’s army was decked in a charcoal grey and a midnight blue, with distinct heraldry of red and silver-grey. It was quite striking.

“Dude, pick ‘em up. Just don’t break ‘em. They are 100% done, so your fingers won’t make the paint come off or anything. These are my favorite, the Witch Elves. They are fucking badass, aren’t they? The Dark Elves are totally and undeniably evil, but whatever, they look cool as hell.”

Dean did have to admit they were impressive looking and Ash’s paint job had made them even more striking. “Definitely. Though, evil isn’t my favorite. I like being the hero, though maybe not the overly noble boring one. But these figures are fucking awesome!”

“So, dude, the big question. Do you want to partner with me for the games? I assume that is why you’re here.”

“Oh yeah definitely. No Andy at this?”

“No way! He thinks all the slow tactics are boring as fuck. He likes the fantasy and the roleplaying and the stories. He even likes the Warhammer books, but try and get him around a table to play and he is running away as fast as he can.”

“Ah, yeah. Okay, I can get that. Mind if I look around at some of the other armies and boards?”

Ash looked back to the group setting up for the games and saw that there were a couple staring daggers at him. “Ah, no, definitely not. Look around as much as you want. I’d better get back to helping or someone might murder me with my own Dark Elf army.”

He waved as he ran back and Dean started his way at looking through the armies. Ash’s Dark Elves were definitely a bit too gruesome for Dean, but as he walked along, he stopped at the Dwarves. Grumpy and totally badass and epic weapons. Yeah, dwarves are probably Dean’s people.

He continued to wander and examine the impressive work until the rest of the players started showing up and explanations began.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time, Dean will play a little Warhammer. And in the next couple chapters, Dean will properly meet Batman. Next update will be on Thursday.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean plays Warhammer and makes a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, if you have no interest in Dean's general interest in Warhammer, I would probably suggest skipping this chapter. The geek is heavy in this chapter and I fucking hate playing Warhammer, so I sort of gloss over a lot of it. Don't be mad at my inaccuracies and I warned you that it's just Dean playing Warhammer. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
> 
> Also, sorry about the random OCs. Mostly they are filler for Dean making geek friends in the community. They are based around my friends and family and people I know to try and fill in the con a bit because not that many spn characters really fit in at the con scene. Sorry >

The opening explanation was misleadingly simple. It was something like “Hey, welcome to beginner’s Warhammer. We will be playing fantasy, not 40k, today. You will be playing with a partner to get learn the game. Each pair has an army, each army has troops, each table has a scenario. Your partners will help teach you the details. Have fun!”

Dean hadn’t been paying complete attention because he was busy looking around the room. There were maybe 5 girls in total and probably 17 guys, unless Dean missed someone. There were some other cosplayers, but not a ton, otherwise the group had a huge range of people. Some were wearing polo shirts and khakis and looked totally normal and boring, if a bit nerdy. The vast majority had on jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt with either a sweatshirt or a partially unbuttoned shirt. They actually looked a lot like Dean did on a day-to-day basis.

It took about fifteen minutes to get all the pairs sorted and there were more beginners than armies, so pairs become small groups. Dean already knew that he was going to be playing with Ash, so he just waited around and kicked at the floor impatiently. It turned out that Ash ended up with another beginner, a girl named Bobbie (short for Barbara, she pointed out). She bore no resemblance to his own Bobby Singer, except that she was also a sarcastic bastard.

The small group ended up being perfect because Bobbie and Dean got along okay and she balanced Ash’s over-eagerness with her Warhammer-weary ways. She made it crystal clear that she came from a Warhammer and gaming family, but Warhammer isn’t her thing at all. Apparently, her husband likes Warhammer and she was only suffering through this, so that she could play with him as a birthday surprise. Dean mentioned that that made her a pretty awesome wife, at which she rolled her eyes and said “Obviously.” Dean definitely liked her.

He hadn’t mentioned to Ash that the Dark Elves were not his favorite or that they were a bit gruesome, but it turned out that he didn’t have to. “Evil races are not my thing. But, if I deal with it now, I will be that much better at destroying your army later on.” He appreciated her joking threat and her honesty.

Ash looked a little perturbed at first with their new recruit, but it was impossible to keep him down. “Hey, they aren’t my favorite either. But, they are epic with good paint and I already told Dean that someone called my usual army. Anyway, quiet and let Dr. Badass teach you the wonders of Warhammer.”

The experienced players around the room were all giving explanations on how the game mechanics work, before any real games started. The amount of tiny dice amazed Dean. He couldn’t believe how many were on the table after Ash emptied his chainmail pouch (Ash seemed especially proud of his chainmail dice bag). The different groups moved together and could perform certain actions. Different races and different troops had different stats. Basically, there was a lot to learn.

When Ash pulled out the paper that had been on the table in front of the army, Dean started getting a little lost. Different tourneys have different point allotments for building your armies and Dean didn’t even know how to play, so building an army seemed a bit irrelevant at the moment.

“Ash, man, I don’t know if there is like a list of crap you are supposed to teach us, but can we skip the army building part? I don’t even know if I will ever buy the stuff for an army… Wouldn’t actually learning to play make more sense?”

Bobbie snorted at that. “Agreed. The math and the blah-blah-blah are why I don’t play this game. Can we move on to the moving and the attacking?”

“No respect for the art, man. No respect,” Ash muttered. “Fine. Moving on.”

The explanation was still intricate in ways a “game” shouldn’t be. But, Dean liked the idea. The person playing would know their troops inside-and-out and would be able to direct them to victory. It made sense. He liked that, the strategy building, working the environment, using his troops to the best advantage. It was unfortunate that the theory was long and boring and difficult, but he knew he’d like it once they started the game.

Finally, the games did start. Ash and the other experienced player showed how to arrange the board and how you want to place your troops strategically right from the get-go. From there, the explanations got a bit smaller and more sectioned out. Bobbie looked like she was going to fall asleep, but she was trying her damnedest to pay attention; Dean even caught sight of her slapping herself once, loud enough to be audible. The game did move a bit slower than Dean might have liked, but not to the point that he was going to complain. While the other player took their turn, he could plan different ways to attack and thin their ranks. It seemed like a good pace for such a large scale endeavor.

At the end of the game, Dean was smiling. He was going to have to make room for some Warhammer stuff in the Batcave. Ash high-fived him on their epic victory over the Empire and started going over the game, like teaching or review or something. Bobbie still looked bored out of her skull.

“Dude, the paint is awesome. But this fucking game. Ugh. I canNOT do it. This might actually be one of my worst birthday ideas ever and I once made his Christmas gift based on a fanfiction I read… Maybe I could buy and paint him some new miniatures and convince you to come play with him. I could set up a big Warhammer tourney night thing and I can set up the tables and the people coming and then I can fuck off and let him have fun. This shit just makes me grouchy,” which was really obvious due to the occasional twitch underneath her right eye. Dean would not want to be the one trying to sit through a game of Warhammer with her.

“Well, you said your entire family plays… I guess if they’ve got the stuff and you’ve got people to play, a Warhammer still sounds like it would mean you are a fucking awesome wife. If you don’t like something, don’t do it. I sure as fuck wouldn’t.” Dean winked at the end, like he was advising her in some great conspiracy. She laughed at him and shoved him with her elbow.

“Dude, no winking. My family has full heavy list armor and swords. They might mistakenly think you’re flirting and not conspiring. Cuz, ya know, I pick up all the hot guys when I go to a con.” Her own mischievous smirk earned a smile from Dean and a soft chuckle.

“Armor and swords and Warhammer? I’ve only got LARPing equipment. Maybe I should join your family and get in on the real stuff.”

“Hah, yeah. Well, the fighters don’t use real swords for fights, they use ratan, which, honestly, being beaten with a stick isn’t much better in my opinion. You really have to worry more about the archers and their real arrows.”

Dean raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest, showing his disbelief. “What? You never knew a family of total geeks before? The motto most popular in my family, well other than ‘better you than me’ and ‘sucks to be you’ is ‘run away, you’ll just die tired.’ Very dangerous people we are.”

Ash had turned back to the conversation between Bobbie and Dean, once he realized his beginners were terrible and not even paying attention. “Guys? Warhammer? Awesome teacher here.”

“Yeah. No. I’m done. I gotta go before I murder everyone just because I am so fucking bored. Can I get your numbers? Gotta set up that Warhammer party maybe because no matter how hard I try I can’t even pretend to like this godforsaken game. I am going to stick to table-top rpgs from now on.”

After they gave her their numbers, Dean did go back to paying attention to Ash’s “lesson” and he enjoyed it. All the different strategy was cool and Ash even explained some of the stuff about the other army, to sort of round out the experience. They talked about the different armies and stats and play styles for a while, until someone punched Ash in the shoulder because it was time to clean up. “Sorry, dude, gotta do my duty here. Later!”

Ash jogged away and Dean checked the time. He had stayed much longer than he had intended. He had about twenty minutes to find food, some more coffee, and get to his Star Wars RPG for the afternoon. He took enough time to say a silent “Fuck!” to himself before he walked back out into the con.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we will start being more Destiel and less just Dean, I promise!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean heads to his Star Wars RPG and is in for a surprise, when he finally sees the Darth Vader Charlie had promised him.

He managed a large black coffee and a pre-made sandwich from the cafe in the convention center. He was “Deaning” his way through his pie, as Sam had called it once, as he made his way through the crowd. Despite the increased amount of elaborate costumes, Dean found that he was crashing into fewer people; apparently Charlie’s skill at maneuvering through the masses was a well-developed skill due to con-going and other large gatherings.

He pushed through the door, that was supposed to be housing his Star Wars game, with half a sandwich dangling from his mouth, his coffee in one hand, and his large bag that still held his clothes from this morning. It was undoubtedly a sight worth laughing at.

And then he stopped dead in his tracks.

The door was still being held open by the foot kicking it out of his way. His sandwich was still partially in his mouth. Dean was a mess.

And there was Darth Vader.

Dean almost dropped the sandwich right out of his mouth. He had never seen anything more flawless and amazing in his life. He had thought yesterday’s Batman was glorious, and it was, but that guy was hot and impressive for different reasons. This Darth Vader looked as though he had just walked out of the movies, straight from the Death Star.

“Dean!!! What’s up? Ready to game?” Andy rescued Dean from his blatant staring and near-drooling with his greeting. Andy was dressed as what appeared to be a hobbit, probably Merry, from the blond wig.

“Andy? I forgot you said that you are running this. Too much alcohol at that party last night. And, why is Merry running a Star Wars game, when Han Solo was here yesterday?” Dean had to ask about why the Star Wars outfit on the non-Star Wars day. “I mean, Darth Vader showed up. And this guy is an even better Vader, than you were yesterday as Han. It’s crazy.”

“Well, you showed up as a part of Star Fleet. You’ve got the wrong ‘Star’ franchise. And yeah, Vader over here is a total badass. And on that note, you two chat while I finish prepping and the other three players arrive.” Andy turned back to his set up. It looked like he was reading some papers and setting some of them out at specific places around the table.

“So, uh, hi.” Dean rubbed at the back of his neck, before realizing that he should probably stick his hand out and do a proper introduction. “So, I’m Dean.”

“Yeah, I noticed from your conversation. Hello, Dean. Nice to meet you.” The voice was familiar, but Dean couldn’t quite place it. The helmet must have been blocking too much sound to figure out where he had heard it before. “Though, we have spoken before, Boy Wonder.”

Somebody needed to call 911 and get the fire department here as fast as possible. Dean was almost entirely certain that his face had just caught fire from the blush that exploded across his face. Holy fucking shit, this is the guy. How is Batman also Darth Vader??? How can one man be so amazing? Charlie promised awesome, but this is so much more.

“Dean?”

He had been staring. Darth Batman was going to think Dean was a fucking weirdo. After last night’s outburst and now him staring, Dean was doomed to a life of shame.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. Ummm… Sorry about last night. I had a lot to drink at the Red Dragon Inn,” he tried to explain, but he didn’t feel that he was making things any better.

“No need to apologize. It was,” the pause Darth Batman put in made Dean want to vomit, “it was funny. Most people just want to take a picture and don’t talk to me at all.” The voice from under the helmet still had that same deep quality to it. It was like dark velvet, but when you move your hand in the wrong direction, so it’s a bit rough. Dean had to admit that he was glad that the suit’s amazing accuracy didn’t extend to the voice modifier.

“So, uh, Darth Batman, what am I supposed to call you? Or is Darth Batman your preferred name?” He was getting back to familiar ground. He could make jokes and be smooth. Well, he was pretty sure that he could regain some semblance of competence.

“Darth Batman?” The man chuckled a bit, like he had never heard anyone say anything like it before. Dean felt the butterflies in his stomach and couldn’t help looking away from the guy; the floor was extra interesting in that moment. “Well, I don’t think Batman has gone to the dark side, despite being ‘the Dark Knight,’ so I guess you should call me Castiel.”

“Castiel? What kind of name is Castiel? Is it from something?” He could have punched himself. He knew better than to blurt out crap like that. Dean wasn’t always Mr. Subtle, but he knew how to not be a complete douche. “Oh, fuck, sorry. That was rude. Uh, yeah, nice to meet you too, Cas.”

The guy tilted his head, clearly confused. The silence went on for a while and Dean started to fidget uncomfortably. When the guy did finally move, he reached his hands up to remove his helmet. Dean’s heart stuttered while the guy undid the fastenings on the helmet. Was he really ready to see Darth Batman’s, Castiel’s, face? He hadn’t been counting on actually running into the guy again. He had sort of planned on looking and not seeing and never thinking about it again. But, maybe fate was pushing him together with Cas. You don’t get much better than Batman and Vader, so the guy has good taste and he looked really good in the Batman costume the day before. Dean’s brain was in panic mode, trying to decide where this was going all at once, instead of just going through it in the moment. He needed to get back to now, he worked best in the now.

Ready or not, it wasn’t up to Dean. The guy was pulling the helmet off and Dean was watching with bated breath.

There wasn’t any sound of air or fancy sci-fi sounds for the helmet removal, just a couple clicks and then Castiel was pulling it off completely. It was an immediate realization, once the helmet was off. Dean was beyond happy to meet Castiel and the man was attractive.

He shook his head a bit, like he needed to remove the feeling from the helmet enclosing his features. And then he looked at Dean, staring would be a more apt description. And Dean was staring wide-eyed, still in shock over the entire situation.

Dean kept looking at Castiel. The man had blue eyes, like really blue. He wasn’t sure it was normal to have eyes that blue. He had seen some color contacts for sale at the convention, but the likelihood of someone wearing color contacts under a full Vader helmet wasn’t good.

And the man’s hair was nice, a complete mess from the helmet, but nice. It was long enough to have body, but not really long, like Sammy’s mop. It was flattened to his forehead and looked good all tousled, but the top was sticking up like the helmet had attempted to style the man’s hair. It stuck out at some strange angles and Dean thought it was odd, until the visual of the man’s hair getting mussed the exact same way from having exuberant sex. The hair was good, definitely good.

Castiel had a strong jaw, but not overdone, it looked really good, covered in the bit of stubble as it was. And, the darkness of the stubble emphasized the really pale lips. Cas had lips that were colored almost like bubble gum. The thought that the guy was wearing lipstick flitted through Dean’s mind, but the chapped appearance of the man’s lips rendered that possibility null. The guy just had really pink lips. They weren’t as full as Dean knew his own were, but the cupid’s bow was well defined and Dean knew that the bottom lip would look nice all red and swollen from being bitten.

This wasn’t a good road to go down. Dean was standing right in front of the man and had already embarrassed himself at least two times. Staring more and picturing the guy in any more compromising situations was not going to help him prevent that number from growing.

“Uh, anyway, Cas, your costumes are amazing. I think the Vader costume is amazing, but the Batman costume looked, uhhh, it looked really good on you.” He had almost choked before he finished the sentence. He was flirting and he knew it. Dean was 100% certain that nobody would miss that he had just complimented the guy’s appearance.

“Well, I can’t take any credit for that. My brother makes the costumes and forces me to wear them. Though, I am partial to Batman. I like his whole thing with doing what he feels is necessary and right, even if it makes people think he is the villain.”

Cas was apparently the only person who would miss the compliment. Or, he had mercifully ignored it and skipped shaming Dean into an early grave.

“Wait, your brother makes you wear the costumes? Why does he make them in the first place if you don’t want to wear them?” Dean couldn’t picture anyone that would make all the effort to make such amazing costumes for someone that didn’t want to wear them. He could barely patch a rip in his clothes, let alone make anything.

“Ah, well, my brother makes costumes and props professionally. He liked pranks, really elaborate pranks, and intricate Halloween set-ups when he was young. After he started the convention scene, he started getting invited to come and cosplay and people wanted his stuff, so he made it his job. I am an unfortunate victim of advertising. I wear the costumes around the convention and help him out at his booth a little bit.”

Dean was barely over the discovery that Batman was Darth Vader was this gorgeous guy Castiel and now he was finding out that some people make their entire living off cosplays? His brain was about to hit somewhere between overdone and burnt-to-a-crisp.

“Wow… Uh, yeah, that’s impressive.”

He would now be happy to accept his award for least verbose man on the planet. The world took pity because Andy called Dean over to give him some idea of what he would be doing in a role playing game. Apparently, he was the only one who had never played one before. Lucky him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got Dean and Cas meeting properly, I hope you like it. Any comments are always welcome. I might update again today, otherwise, more updates tomorrow.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas sit awkwardly in silence, Andy is no help at all and Charlie is a master at embarrassing Dean.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my Chuck! Today the story is just not flowing as easily as I like. Generally I just sit and story happens and I just type it out. I started this chapter yesterday and came back to it today, which might have been the problem. But this was like pulling teeth. I hope it doesn't suck and that you enjoy it.
> 
> I was a big fat liar when I said this chapter would actually have the RPG happening. But soon and I promise some good things in the actual gaming.

Andy had finished explaining the basics to Dean and they were just sitting at the table chatting, where Castiel had joined them. It turned out that Cas hadn’t played a real RPG in years, so he was a bit rusty and he was new the Star Wars RPG, so the review had been good for him too. Dean felt like he could start crawling out from the hole he had dug himself at that news. The guy was nice and didn’t seem to be treating Dean like a total n00b. It would have been nice if that did anything to lessen the nerves that were making him want to projectile vomit onto the table-sized dry-erase graph thing. Somehow, the nicer Cas was, the more Dean wanted to hide under the table because a guy that looked that good and acted that nice shouldn’t exist.

Andy had put Dean at his spot, where his character sheet was set up, while he explained the game. Fate was determined to put Cas and Dean together because random happenstance put Dean’s bounty hunter right next to Cas’ jedi. The empty seat next to Dean had a character sheet for a female smuggler. One the other side of Castiel, there was a padawan (Dean was trying to figure out why anyone would be a padawan when they could be a jedi, but he was beginning to think that maybe roleplayers were just crazy) and the last character was an Ewok. Dean hadn’t honestly looked at the class because ewoks. Not Dean’s favorite part of Star Wars.

But, all that really mattered was the fact that Dean was sitting next to Cas, the most perfect human being to ever walk the earth.

Dean was pretending to examine his character and learn what he was supposed to know, while he attempted to hide the fact that he was checking the guy out. It was rather odd, the more Dean thought about it. His only actual “relationships” that weren’t one night stands or blatant flings were always with dark-haired women with attitude. Castiel was undoubtedly dark-haired, if the flippant comments were any indication, the guy had attitude. The only thing that didn’t match Cassie and Lisa was the fact that Castiel was a dude. And, since it was the year of ending self-denial, Dean had to admit that the dude part wasn’t a deal breaker or even a downside.

The silence was deafening. The only noise was Andy shuffling papers around and Cas occasionally moving in his seat, causing the Vader costume to move. Dean cleared his throat, hoping that he would think of something to say and relieve the unbearable awkwardness he felt. At the sound, Andy and Cas both looked up at him in expectation, but Dean couldn’t think of anything to say. He ended up taking a drink from his coffee and pretending he just had dust caught in his throat. The other players needed to get there as soon as possible, like ten minutes ago if possible.

He had literally resorted to twiddling his thumbs in his lap as he tried to distract himself, when, finally, the door swung open.

“Sorry I meant to be here sooner! Hey, Boy Wonder! ‘D you find your Batman yet?”

Castiel looked at Dean and laughed a bit. Dean choked. This moment could not be happening.

“Ch-charlie?! What’re you doing here? This is the Star Wars game.”

“Yeah? I know, I signed up after you told me that you’d be playing. You know I prefer tabletop games to LARPing, so how could I miss your first? But, did you find Batman?”

Clearly, she was not going to drop it. In fact, Dean was well aware that she would keep asking until he spontaneously combusted out of embarrassment.

“Uh… Charlie, this is Castiel. Castiel, this is Charlie.”

Charlie’s eyebrows shot as high as the could go without imitating a cartoon and physically leaving her face. She mouthed the words “him?,” but unless there was a time machine around here, the damage was done. She chewed one side of her lip in obvious anxiety as she tried to find a way to backpedal and fix it.

“You must be the Charlie that Dean said brought him here. Nice to meet you. I am going to guess that I am ‘his’ Batman.”

Cas said all of this with a straight face. He wasn’t joking or judging or anything. Named for an angel? More like actually an angel. Dean was not one for praying, but he was sending out a prayer of gratitude to whoever was listening. The guy had even used air quotes and elicited a small laugh from Dean.

She had the grace to look embarrassed, as she replied. “Yeah, Charlie, nice to meet you Castiel. Your Batman was amazing and Vader today, very nice.”

Evidently, the female smuggler next to Dean was Charlie. And, Dean was starting to think it was all a set up because she didn’t even look at her character sheet to know what seat she was supposed to sit in. He wouldn’t put it past Charlie to have already uncovered “Batman’s” real identity, at least a name, and to have conspired with Andy when she found out Castiel was in their Star Wars game. At least her embarrassment seemed real, so she hadn’t known what she was saying when she came in.

“Sorry Dean. But, score!” Charlie whispered to Dean, while she organized her character stuff in front of her. “So, Castiel, the costumes are amazing. Do you make them yourself?”

“No, I don’t sew at all. Sometimes I assist in making props, but I just wear the outfits. My brother Gabriel makes them all and forces me to wear them. I suppose this is the part where I tell you that you should get your own costumes at ‘Trickster Costumes: so good people will think you are the real thing.’” He paused briefly and looked at Dean for a few moments, “Though, it seems that you already did. I am certain that your outfit comes from Gabriel’s shop.”

“It did! We were there this morning. Gabriel must be the guy that was working there this morning? His stuff is epic!”

Her answer was too quick. Dean looked over at her and glared. She hadn’t been helping him shop this morning. Well, she had obviously or he wouldn’t be dressed as Kirk, but she had really been asking around about the Batman cosplayer and if anyone knew him. That’s why it took so long to get the outfit! He should have known something was up, even though he told her to not worry about finding out who the guy had been.

Charlie must have known that she had been caught because she was studiously only looking at Castiel and nowhere near the glare that Dean was trying to murder her with.

“Ah, yes. He is very good at what he does. He also makes very convincing scenes of all sorts. He even played a prank once and convinced a guy that he had been abducted by aliens and the guy had to slow dance with them. The guy reported it, but nobody believed him. Gabriel’s slogan about it seeming like the real thing is surprisingly appropriate.”

Despite the hilarity of the story Castiel was telling, he ended it with a sigh, as though Gabriel was a great source of frustration. In fact, the story sounded hilarious, but Castiel’s telling of the tale made it sound completely ordinary and factual and not like a joke at all. He had to be the straightest straight-man Dean had ever seen. Though, Dean didn’t think that Cas was trying to play it straight, he just seemed like he meant it.

The doors had opened again and the last two players had come in and found their seats. They looked like a couple, if the handholding was anything to go by. The ewok was being played by the girl and the padawan was the girl’s boyfriend.

“Finally!” Andy sounded extremely glad for the group to be assembled. Maybe the awkwardness hadn’t been so great for him either and if Charlie had let him in on the situation, then it was probably even more uncomfortable for him than Dean had realized. “Now that everybody is here, does anyone have any questions? If not, we will dive right into the story!”

At least, for the next couple hours, Dean could now pretend to be a badass bounty hunter and not Dean Winchester, master of embarrassment.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game begins, but when you are a bounty hunter and he is a jedi, will that help Dean make a connection or will it make things tense and difficult. Dean never thought that he would have to worry about a game messing up his game, but he almost hopes that he'll have better luck in game as he tries to talk to Castiel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I really love Star Wars and my husband and in-laws have played the SW RPG, but I never have personally. I have a really REALLY vague idea of how it works and I have never read any of the SW books. So, I am giving a heads up that there are probably accuracy issues and I am really REALLY sorry, but please forgive me and take it for what it is.
> 
> I hope you like it!

A nasty alien mafia had taken up residence near a major trade center in a moderately peaceful part of the galaxy. They were charging tolls and threatening ships entering that section of space. It was taking a disturbing amount of business away from this station. A request had been sent out to bring in assistance to help rid them of this nuisance, so that they could resume their regular business and regain the lost tourism.

The jedi had discussed the matter and determined that they would send one jedi and his two padawans to investigate the matter. The local authorities had also put out a reward in credits for help and a smuggler and a bounty hunter had answered the offer.

A large part of why the authorities needed assistance was because they were having very little luck in finding the leader of the group and where they were basing themselves from. It seemed that the leader must be somebody working at the station because information was being leaked that should only have been accessible by high-up employees. And there were far too many possible locations for a hidden base and all sweeps had failed to turn anything up.

As they were given all the information available, it was clear that they were an odd assortment and the authorities even sent them off with a warning to work well together and it seemed there had been some muttering about how this was never going to work and things were just going to be broken and expensive.

And then they were off. Dean thought the introduction had been interesting enough, but having to roleplay was starting to make him nervous. He was certainly no stranger to pretending to be something he wasn’t used to doing it in this kind of situation. Usually, he was just pretending to do a job, but he wasn’t outright pretending to be a whole different person.

Charlie didn’t share the sentiment because she dove right in.

“These ass holes have been making my life hell! They keep blocking the different routes and charging money and wrecking profits. It’s difficult to get enough real honest cargo to get anything done in this crap situation.”

“Just calm down. We must be rational and find a good starting place for locating a base or uncovering who is leading this operation.” Cas sounded calm and confident and collected and like he should be a jedi for real. Dean was trying to remember what a bounty hunter should be like, which should have been easy, since that was essentially what he did in real life.

“Like hell I will calm down! I can barely afford to fuel my ship to get out of this damned place! We are gonna find these ass holes and put an end to this.” Charlie had slammed her hands onto the table and scared the hell out of Dean. She was really getting into the role.

“Our master is right. If we do not control ourselves, we will never find our way. Your passion can be useful, but it serves no purpose in this task.”

Were ewoks supposed to be eloquent? Maybe ewok jedi were more useful.

“It is true, let us find a more functional way of approaching the situation. You say they have caused you trouble? What do you know from attempting to enter or leave the station?”

“I agree.” Dean surprised himself by speaking up and doing it to agree with Cas. Now it was too late and he had to say something more or look like an ass in front of this perfect man. “Uhh, if we rush in or make too much noise then we won’t get anywhere. This sounds like a smart operation, so cool your heels and lets get this done, so we can collect the reward.” That sounded like a bounty hunter. Dean smiled, pleased with himself.

“Ugh, fine. I know they have a reputation for roughing people up. If they find out you snuck by, then when they catch you next time, they take you somewhere blinded and teach you not to bother again. But, nobody knows where they take you or how they manage to completely blind your ship. Even the windows are blacked out. It has to be some sort of weird tech.”

“Do you know anyone that is currently in the station that has had this occur? Perhaps we should speak with them and ask for as much detail as possible.” Cas was good at this. He was commanding and intelligent. Dean wasn’t sure if it was the role Cas was playing that was giving him shivers with that sure control or that that was just the way Cas was. Either way, Dean liked it.

“Well, they sure as hell aren’t gonna talk to some jedi. You reek of authority and even your posture screams goody-two-shoes. But yeah, I might know somebody on the station who has had the misfortune of a close run-in.”

“I can go!” The non-ewok padawan exclaimed. So far he had been quiet, so the abrupt enthusiasm was a bit startling. “I am good with speaking to people and you often scold me for my lack of…” He trailed off mid-sentence and it seemed real. His roleplaying was impressive. “Well, I don’t think they would suspect my allegiances and if I go with the others, you can trust I will bring back the information honestly, without causing issue.”

“Kid, I don’t know what he has to lecture you on, but maybe you shouldn’t say it so clear that you don’t think we are honest enough to work with. Have some manners. Just because you have some fancy force skills and someone is training you up real good, doesn’t mean you are any better than the rest of us.” Dean had channeled his father for that one. John had always hated people who thought they were better than others. But, he thought he had been pretty cool.

Beside him, Cas sighed and his shoulders slumped a bit. “The man is correct, you need to watch your tongue. How can you meet with others and be a good emissary when you lack such tact. However, your plan is a good one and not because we cannot trust these allies, no matter how temporary they might be. Your youth and lack of tact might be exactly what we need to make someone believe that we aren’t just ‘goody-two-shoes’ as the lady put it.”

Dean had been worried at the sigh and the movement, but after Cas had agreed with him and seemed to lecture his “padawan” for his rudeness to Dean and Charlie’s characters, Dean was practically glowing. He was really enjoying this game. Or he was really enjoying gaming with Cas. He wasn’t completely sure.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The RPG ends and Dean and Cas get to talk a bit.

The rest of the game went well and there were a couple other moments where Dean was 99.8% certain that Cas was flirting. Unfortunately, the guy was also just a bit intense and sometimes it was hard to tell if it was intentional or just Castiel. At one point, Dean had almost been killed, but Cas stepped in and managed to convince the startled sentry that they were supposed to be there and he didn’t need to worry about it.

“We are not the escaped prisoners. Continue your guard duty and we will continue our work.” Dean was still a bit mad at Charlie and Andy’s scheming, but gratitude was beating our anger the more the game progressed. It was difficult to not get absorbed into the guy’s pace. He moved surely and quickly and he commanded everyone in the group. Even Charlie began following Castiel’s lead, after some stubborn smuggler antics.

When Dean had first started hanging out with Charlie, she had mentioned that she preferred table top to LARPing, but he hadn’t been able to understand how that was possible. Swinging swords, all the action, LARPing was really cool and exciting, but rolling dice on a table and all that seemed a bit lame. Today, he finally understood what she liked about this whole table top RPG business. He could imagine the characters doing all their stuff. He could see Cas as a jedi using mind-tricks to save his ass. He could picture jedi-Cas fighting gracefully with his light saber. It made Dean really excited to picture hiding behind the boxes and ships in the hanger with Charlie as a smuggler and planning a sneak attack on the sentries by the entry into the base.

Dean was a convert and he was excited thinking about the other possible games and scenarios. He had even stopped feeling anxious about judgment or being one of these people or anything else. He was just having unashamed fun and he couldn’t remember a time where he had been this light and carefree.

The boss had been a female genius. She had made the cloaking technology thing that worked in reverse. It created a shield around the ship her men were boarding or herding and blinded them from all information. She was brilliant. Her droids were strong and fast, but because she didn’t have a proper place to build them, there weren’t too many to stop and they had enough weak points that a well placed shot or light saber would put them out of commission. And nobody had been leaking any information from the station. That had been the hardest part because they had followed that lead for a good 45 minutes of the game before realizing it was a wild goose chase. Genius girl had just been hacking into the system and funnelling the information into her own system for the things she wanted.

The story had been great and Dean was a bit sad that the game was over. However, he was also wicked hungry and ready to go get another burger at that great diner from the night before. Everyone helped to clean up after the game, stacking papers and picking up dice and miniatures.

The young couple was the first to leave, which left Andy, Charlie, Dean and Cas in the room as they finished up. Charlie was badgering Andy about the villain. She was adamant that Andy had based her on Charlie and Andy kept repeating that he had only met Charlie yesterday and he couldn’t have prepared the game in a single morning. Dean was laughing a little and shaking his head.

Castiel was staring at Dean. He seemed to be watching the movements of Dean’s face and it was making Dean hyper-aware of every detail he could think of. He could feel the way his eyes were crinkled when he smiled, the way his eyebrows were a bit lifted, the way he pulled his lips down almost into a frown as he tried to hold in his laughter and not smile. Worst was the way he could feel himself staring back at Cas now that he had noticed.

Cas was just as interesting and attractive to look at as he had been when he had first taken the Vader helmet off. His eyes were still some ridiculous shade of blue. His lips were pink. His light shadow of stubble emphasized his jaw nicely. Now, Castiel had his eyebrows drawn together like he was trying to understand something completely foreign to him. His head was a bit tilted, sort of like the owl on Charlie’s ORLY shirt, he thought the owl was Hedwig, but that was off-track. But, as Dean stared back, he watched Cas swallow and draw his brow together, almost like he was in pain, and then his face smoothed out. The only trace of the confusion was a brief twitch of the muscle in his jaw. Even that seemed attractive to Dean. He was completely boned. And if it were Charlie, the pun would have been intended.

“Eh-HEM!” Charlie cleared her throat and looked at him in a way that only reminded him of Sammy looking irritated at Dean’s attempts to pick up women while they were out together. And suddenly Dean was worried that he was being more obvious than was intended. “So, Dean. Uhh, I ran into that hot cosplayer, you know the one from last night? And we were chatting and we are gonna grab dinner tonight, so you are on your own. And, could you maybe take a while? I’ll leave something on the door if extra time is needed, but, I think you can handle one night on your own.”

“Charlie, I survived all of today mostly on my own, didn’t I? You go and get your lady. But, maybe text me with how it’s going so I can find something else to do for as long as needed.”

“Of course! And I always get my lady.” Her wink was hilarious and adorable and Dean loved her so much it was ridiculous, but he was really glad he could have her. They both needed more family in their lives and it was nice to have that. “And, I can think of something for you to do for the evening,” the eyebrow waggling was the most hilarious and most embarrassing thing Dean had ever experienced. His mother hadn’t lived long enough for his mother to embarrass him in front of his non-existant friends or the girls he brought home and his dad wasn’t ever around even if Dean did bring a girl around the house. Somehow, Charlie was doing enough embarrassing today to fulfill all those lost moments and Dean was going to interrupt Charlie and totally mess up her game if she didn’t lay off.

“Get the fuck out of here before I change my mind about keeping out of the room for the evening!”

Charlie laughed some more and gave her customary live-long-and-prosper sign with a “Peace out bitches,” as she left the room.

“What about you Andy? You busy tonight?” It was hard to tell if Dean wanted Andy to be busy or if he wanted a buffer so he wouldn’t end up alone with Cas while clearly having no plans.

“Sorry Dean, Saturday night at a con? Ash and I have to hit up the night’s rave and maybe one of the game rooms doing ‘adult’ games.” Both of those activities sounded like they might be a lot of fun, but the idea of going to a dance, especially a rave, and having to dance with people he wasn’t trying to take home sounded like not his cup of tea and the ‘adult’ games sounded a lot like fun if he wasn’t imagining just Andy and Ash playing.

“Ah, cool. Have fun. Maybe see you around.”

“Yeah, later dude.”

Andy was slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking away, which meant just Dean and Cas remained in the room.

“Soooo, Cas…” He had no idea where he was going with this thought and his attempt at talking died.

“Yes, Dean?”

“Umm, any plans? Ya know, convention and all? You said you’ve been to plenty before, so you must have a ritual of some sort?”

“Ah, well, most of the time, Gabriel makes me attend one of the larger evening events for more advertising. A few times he has put me in modified costumes or new costumes for different events. After a slave Han Solo incident, I have tried to find other plans, so that I may excuse myself from his idea of fun at my expense.”

That did not help Dean even a tiny bit. Gabriel would make plans for Cas, but Cas tried to find other plans, but did he have plans for this night? How on earth could Castiel be worse at this than Dean?

“So, have you found other plans yet? For this convention, I mean?” That had sounded acceptably normal and Dean wasn’t feeling like the room was on fire, so he must have succeeded at staying cool and not blushing like a 12- year-old asking out his first girl.

“Ah, no. I believe Gabriel has been intending for me to attend the rave that Andy just mentioned or perhaps he has decided to send me to one of the 18+ events, which does not bode well for me.” The man looked so uncomfortable, like he might throw up from nerves. It was the complete opposite of the confident man he had seen during the game.

“Not into the 18+ stuff?”

Castiel’s eyes were wide and nervous and Dean was sure that the guy was attractive enough to have no trouble finding someone to take back to his room, which was what Charlie had made it sound like the point of the late games was.

“I am…I am never very good with the people in those situations. The young women speak with me, but my responses always make them angry and I have very little in common with most people attending… It is difficult…”

He looked like he was about to say something else, but his voice faded out with nerves and Dean couldn’t take it anymore so he decided to change the subject.

“Well, I have no plans and all this convention stuff is crazy, so I was thinking of hitting up a diner for some food and maybe having a few drinks? I dunno if there is other stuff I wanna do tonight, but apparently I have a while before I can go back to my own room. How do you feel about burgers?”

“I do like burgers, though Gabriel prefers richer foods and I often do not get to have them.”

“Perfect! I had the most awesome burger ever last night. Bacon cheeseburger with really good fries and the place even had good pies! Wanna go?” Dean was sending silent prayers of thanks up to whoever was listening again because this had gone much better than he had anticipated.

“Ah, yes. This sounds much preferable to attempting one of the plans Gabriel is sure to have made. However, I probably need to tell Gabriel that I am unavailable for the evening. And maybe switch into something more comfortable. I doubt the Darth Vader costume will make dinner easy.”

Dean stood and watched as Cas reattached the Vader helmet and gathered all his stuff to head out. The prospect of Cas getting out of the flawless Vader costume made Dean a bit sad, but dinner was a good exchange. And hell, it sounded like Gabriel was set on Cas wearing costumes as much as possible at the con, so maybe he’d throw a new costume on Cas for their dinner.

“Well, then let’s go. I am starving!” Dean threw an arm around Cas and started pushing him forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If people want to actually have me write the game eventually, I think I can, but it would have to be a short thing and probably won't be right in this exact story.
> 
> Also, I hope you are enjoying the Destiel as more of it happens and they fumble through everything. We are meeting Gabe next chapter and I am very excited!


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas have a conversation about Cas' family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING THIS IS KIND OF SAD MAYBE???? I dunno, I didn't mean to get serious, and we didn't get to Gabe yet because I have no control over what my babies do. NEXT CHAPTER IS GABE I SWEAR. But don't be sad, please.

“So, you said you hadn’t played any RPGs in a while, but you used to, right? Why did you stop?” Dean wasn’t certain that this was an acceptable question to ask, but he was curious enough to risk it. Cas had seemed to have a lot of fun and he was good at it, so it seemed odd to quit playing entirely.

“Well, honestly, it was a family thing. My dad was a writer. Well, he liked to think of himself as a ‘creator.’ He wrote fantasy books that had a decent cult following. The series lasted a while and managed to get a couple conventions going and it even has its own roleplaying game. So, he liked to write stories for us to play. I think that was part of how he wrote the books. He would look at what I and my brothers and sisters would do in a situation and use that. But, I don’t know that for a fact or anything, it isn’t like the books are about me or our family or anything. Anyway, after a while, our father left. Most of us had grown up and moved out or were at least in college or working. We found his computer on his desk, open and the end of his story sitting there. But, he was gone. Like his creation was finished and his work was done and we didn’t need him anymore. And we never really did any games after that. Everyone went about their business. My eldest brother spent years trying to get the last couple books on the computer published, but it was hard. And once he succeeded, he decided that the story wasn’t over and he wanted to continue dad’s work. He became obsessed and it made things… Difficult…”

Cas’ story was interesting and really different. What kind of weird father did Cas have? He had thought that his own life was weird and difficult enough, but absent fathers must be a really common theme in people’s lives.

“Huh… Do you mind me asking what series your dad wrote?” That question was probably a bad choice and too inconsiderate, but he wanted to know more about Cas and sometimes the shitty parts were the most important.

“Oh, uh, no. I am very fond of his work. Honestly, what he created was amazing and beautiful, I just wish he hadn’t disappeared.” Cas looked down for a moment, a soft, loving sadness clear in the movement. “I still know that he is out there and I want to find him…” It had been barely audible, but Dean knew the feeling too well and felt his own chest constrict with the memory of knowing his dad was going to come back, even when everyone said that he should give up.

“Uh, anyway, he hasn’t been around in a lot of years, but he wrote the Supernatural books. They still have a strong cult following, despite my father’s absence. Most are very dismissive of Michael’s attempts to continue his work. Have you heard of it?”

“I think I saw the RPG you mentioned it having… Never heard of it before this morning when I stumbled on the player’s guide this morning. Sorry. But uh, I understand that whole absent father thing and you gotta believe. If you say he’s still out there, then he is, I believe it.”

Cas looked up, the movement was sudden and the surprise was obvious. “Really? Many people believe that it is a hopeless endeavor. To even think about looking for him has gotten me mocked by my siblings.”

Dean would probably punch someone for making fun of anyone for trusting in their dad, he knew that he had run away and almost gotten lost the one time someone tried to convince him that John wasn’t going to come back.

“Yeah man. My own dad disappeared and came back all the time and I knew he’d be back no matter what shit other people said. You believe he’s out there, then he is. Just keep looking.”

Cas turned and looked ahead again and went silent. Dean had probably asked too personal a question, but he hoped that he had also given a good enough reply to have not messed up whatever was happening up.

The rest of the walk to Trickster Costumes was quiet, despite the commotion of the convention surrounding them. Dean continued to glance at Cas as they walked, nervous that Cas was upset or angry, but the helmet made it absolutely impossible to try and figure out what all the silence meant. As they walked, they passed the booth Dean had seen the player’s handbook in that morning and he decided that he would look into the Supernatural series, even if it only gave the barest glimpse into Castiel’s life.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean finally meets Gabriel properly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, my Gabriel is closer to canon than the usual fanon. He is humor, but fairly dark, and I don't want anyone upset that this isn't typical fic!Gabe. He will probably lighten up a little bit as he sides more with Dean, sort of like it did in the show.

Walking back into Trickster’s Costumes was a bit strange for Dean. He was wearing their clothes, he had been there that morning, and now he was apparently hanging out with the owner’s brother. He was thinking about if this counted as meeting Castiel’s family or if it was okay because technically he had kind of met the guy earlier or if his brain was just going to explode because he was sort of going on a date with a guy.

Fuck! Dean hadn’t asked the guy on a date, had he? Was this a date or was this two bros hanging out?

It wasn’t going to matter at all because Castiel was going to ditch Dean because he was a giant embarrassment after Dean almost knocked the entire front display of Trickster’s Costumes over while his mind went into overdrive.

“Oh shit!” Dean frantically grabbed for the crap that he knocked over, but it was more than two hands could catch and he ended up squatting down to pick everything up. His only relief came from the fact that the big wire wall hadn’t come tumbling down to crash into the rest of the booth or to crush Castiel’s brother.

It made no sense that Dean could pick up any girl he wanted in any bar or shop or anywhere ever, but the mere existence of an interesting guy had Dean looking like an uncoordinated buffoon. He wanted to disappear into the floor just a little bit.

The light brush of fabric against his back was a surprise and then the gloved hand reaching out to help Dean pick up his mess was more than Dean could process. For some reason, Cas had decided to help Dean, rather than walk away and never acknowledge him ever again. The hands picking up props may as well have been lifting all the soul-crushing weight of anxiety off of Dean’s shoulders for how welcome the sight was.

“Little brother! Are you breaking my shop? Do I have to stop putting capes on yo-” The loud, commanding, a little bit condescending, voice stopped mid-word as the short man from the morning came out from behind the wall. “Ah. Castiel, you brought a friend back! And he is even already wearing one of my amazing costumes!”

The glinting in his eyes made it very clear that despite the light joking tone, Gabriel was very aware of what was happening. Dean had pretty much figured out that Charlie had spoken to Gabriel that morning and Gabriel seemed quite pleased with the way everything had turned out.

“Nice to see you back. That Star Fleet uniform really suits you. The Captain Kirk and Darth Vader hanging out seems a bit off, if you ask me.” He popped a jawbreaker into his mouth and it made a clear bulge in the man’s cheek. Dean couldn’t take the sugar of a jawbreaker after he had stopped being about eleven, the guy had to have a crazy sweet tooth.

He sucked at the candy for a few moments as he looked at Dean. The look on the man’s face was light and smiling around the giant lump of sugar, but Dean noticed that the eyes on his back felt more like a glare trying to kill him than anything friendly. Dean was waiting for Cas to introduce his brother or say anything at all, but the man remained silent other than picking the last of the props up off the floor. Gabriel seemed as unperturbed by Cas’ lack of response as Dean was concerned by it. Castiel seemed different in front of Gabriel. It wasn’t that he seemed to be less than he had before, but it seemed like he was deferential toward his brother.

Cas remained kneeling at the table edge placing everything back on the correct hook or in its proper pile on the table and Dean stood up to look at Gabriel.

He was quite a bit shorter than either Dean or Cas, but he was very commanding. Most of the time, Dean’s height gave him an advantage in making others feel that they were not the person in charge, but Gabriel gave off waves of confidence and control, despite having to look up to make eye contact. He had drawn his brows together and pursed his lips together. The look was almost comical thanks to the distended cheek, but his eyes were so serious that Dean almost felt threatened.

“Uh, the costume is great…” Dean needed to regain his position as a full grown man and the topic of costumes didn’t seem like it would help, but it also seemed like the only choice.

“Yes, it fits you perfectly. I am amazing, if I do say so myself.” This man had the largest ego that Dean had ever encountered.

“Me? Oh, yeah. Star Fleet, awesome, yes. But, I meant Cas’ costume. Um, the Vader get-up is amazing and so accurate. And yesterday, I saw Cas in the Batman outfit and I was trying to find his Batmobile, it was so awesome I thought he was going to drive off and fight crime or something.” That was good. Flattery always worked on people with big egos. Dean could work with this.

“Ah, yes.” Gabriel was appraising Dean again and it was making his skin crawl. He never thought he would be grateful for a man looking at him in a lewd manner, but when Gabriel stopped staring through Dean, he was relieved, despite the decidedly blatant leer that replaced the staring. “I do find the challenges of costumes that are more than just clothes. I want to get Castiel into a Night Crawler costume, but he hasn’t agreed. Yet.”

“Gabriel, I think that is enough. We were stopping by to tell you that we would be getting dinner and maybe drinks, so I cannot attend the rave or any of this evening’s panels.” Cas finally spoke up, much to Dean’s relief. He had already removed the costume’s helmet and he looked a bit irritated with Gabriel’s antics. “Also, I would like to change out of this costumes because it will make eating excessively difficult. May I wear clothes of my choice or do you have another costume for me?”

Gabriel smirked, a very knowing look with one corner of his mouth pulled up and his eyes dancing with glee. Castiel was looking a bit nauseated again.

“Yes, Castiel, I have the perfect costume for you to wear! Come right this way!” Gabriel grabbed Cas’ arm and bounced back into the booth. Cas just looked over his shoulder at Dean as though he needed a lifeline or escape plan. The man was terrified of what cruel joke his “trickster” brother would play on him. But, Dean could only think that it was just a costume and he kind of wanted to see what else Cas would be wearing.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Gabriel have a conversation. Meeting the family is awkward, even when it's just a single brother.

Dean rifled through the costume racks and prop tables, as he waited. He had no idea what he should do while Cas got out of the costume and into a new one. It was probably difficult to get in and out of because of all the detail, but Dean felt uncomfortable just standing in the booth.

The peace of solo discomfort was ruined when Gabriel came back. Apparently, only one person was needed for the costume’s removal.

“So, Dean-o. What’s the plan? You going to take my little bro out for a good night? Take him back to your room? Show him a good time?”

The words felt dirty and wrong. Gabriel was saying it like he was pimping his brother out, like Dean was just trying to get laid. The idea of anybody treating Cas like that disgusted Dean. He didn’t seem like the kind of man that wanted a one night stand and flings that were only okay if that was the silent agreement. Dean did not think that they had that silent agreement and he wasn’t sure that that was what he wanted anyway.

Gabriel’s lecherous look drained away and his eyebrows shot up. He examined Dean again, from the top of his hair all the way down to his boots. When he returned his gaze to Dean’s face, he scrunched up his eyebrows and frowned.

“You looked like you were gonna puke. Please don’t upchuck all over my merch. This shit is expensive to make and a bitch to clean. I… Sorry. You look like the use ‘em and lose ‘em type. Maybe I was wrong?”

Some of the confidence was gone from his egotistical expression, but Dean thought that made everything worse. Behind all that bravado, he had caught a glimpse of sadness. Cas had mentioned that Gabriel liked to give people their “just desserts” and maybe that was a bigger factor than he had thought. Even when Dean got older, his dad’s coming and going and general absence had still hurt like a bitch; maybe Gabriel was trying to take out that well-deserved frustration on others. He probably just wanted to protect Cas like Dean would protect Sam and Dean could only respect that.

“Ah, you wouldn’t be wrong… I’m not much for relationships. I find a girl in a bar, we have a good time and we part. Nothing messy. Uh, but…” He wasn’t sure that he wanted to discuss the rest of this with Gabriel, but if he stopped there he knew he sounded like a total ass hat. He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and worried at it with his teeth as he decided what else to say.

“Honestly? I don’t really know what to tell you. I don’t talk to girls’ families. I don’t even meet the family if I can help it. I have had two relationships ever and they weren’t particularly pretty. But, uh, I dunno. That isn’t all I am?” Dean knew he had never said anything lamer or stupider, but he had said it and hoped that it was enough. He really didn’t want to explain any more.

“Girls, huh?” Gabriel chuckled a bit and nodded to himself. “Well, I dunno if you noticed or not, but Castiel is not a girl. And, he doesn’t exactly go home with people and just move on the next day. My little bro is a handful. He’s a fucking badass and could kick your ass. But, he did bring you back here and usually he would just call me, so he likes you. Hopefully not too much. Just, do the right thing, I guess.”

The shorter man stood there with his hands dangling at his sides. It was obvious that something was being left unsaid and that Gabriel had a huge weight dragging him down. He was as uncomfortable talking about his family as Dean sometimes got and Dean could only feel that their family situation was worse than Cas had let on. Gabriel looked lost, like trying to even talk about just Castiel was hard.

The slump in his shoulders disappeared in seconds after that. The weight was gone and Dean almost got whiplash from the change of atmosphere. Gabriel laughed and started to pull out another candy. “And, you screw with him and you will find out all about how god a trickster I really am. Don’t screw with my family.”

Dean laughed, but it was nervous as he remembered the story Cas had told him earlier. Slow dancing with a believably costumed alien was not anywhere on Dean’s bucket list. He would not be giving Gabriel any reason to use the full extent of his skills.

“I heard about the slow dancing alien. I definitely won’t screw with Castiel.”

Gabriel’s laugh was full and loud and surprisingly pleasant after such a serious series of moments. “Ahahahaha, that was one of my best! Good times. I can’t believe Castiel told you about that! Oh, man, that is great.” He paused to catch his breath from the laughter, before continuing, “And don’t screw with my little brother, but you’ll have to ask him about screwing him.”

Gabriel winked and his eyes were alight with mischief, while Dean stood a bit flabbergasted. He had no chance to respond because Gabriel went to greet a customer who was walking in and that was not a conversation he wanted to go anywhere near with other people around.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel's new costume is mind-blowingly awesome and some serious conversations too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I hope you guys are enjoying this now that the Destiel is really happening. But, I must warn you of one thing in this chapter.
> 
> Cosplayers are often harassed by touching or propositioning or unwelcome commentary at pretty much every convention ever. It is unfortunate, I don't like it. Anyone that treats anyone else like that is a douche in my eyes, but it does happen. Castiel is a very attractive man and in this fic his costumes are exceptional. So, there is some mentioned harassment in here. I don't want to tag the entire fic as having non-con because this should be the only time it comes up, but I also don't want to trigger anyone. So, THIS CHAPTER HAS BRIEF REFERENCES TO NON-CON INVOLVING UNWELCOME ADVANCES AND TOUCHING AT CONVENTIONS PLEASE BE CAREFUL IF THIS KIND OF THING TRIGGERS YOU
> 
> also, Castiel's costume (I might recommend reading the chapter and looking at the pictures after my description), but I wanted to provide the link for the image I was referencing. http://aselia.wikia.com/wiki/File:Yggdrasil.jpg

Gabriel was loud and cheery as he bounced around his new customer and helped her find the perfect costume. She was saying that she liked some game and wanted a costume from that. His response was enthusiastic as he lead her over to a rack and began pulling out pieces for a very skimpy outfit that must have constituted “armor” in her video game. Dean appreciated a scantily clad woman as much as the next man, but he still couldn’t figure out how scraps of fabric would stop a sword or even just a splinter.

He went back to flicking through one of the racks as Gabriel busied himself with making money. Dean was still in awe of the costumes’ accuracy. That someone could make all these without being the actual designer for the real thing, Dean could barely imagine trying to make something as nice as Gabriel was selling here.

Dean was looking at some really detailed wing props, when he heard Cas’ “Hello Dean.”

“Oh, hey Cas. Ready to g-” Dean had been turning around and he froze when he saw Castiel’s new costume.

Castiel was wearing a white perfectly fitted one piece that looked like it was almost a cat suit. The fabric was soft and had a slight shine to it, maybe silk. The details were all gold and they were sinful in the attention they drew. The sleeves and ankles had a slight angled bell shape to them and they were edged in gold. The shoulders had the same sharp gold decorations tracing all the way around. The neck had a heavy piece of jewelry with sharp edges and a turquoise stone in the center. The necklace pointed down over his bared chest. The top of the outfit was open over most of Cas’ chest in a diamond shape. From the edges of this cutout, the gold design flared out over his hips and down onto his thighs where it curled inward. The absolute only place that had any loose fabric was the ball on the ankle and wrist.

Dean was staring. In fact, he was quite certain he was drooling. But every inch of Castiel was visible and he looked positively… scrumptious. Dean was feeling a bit resentful that he couldn’t take Cas back to his room and molest him right now. The view was making his life difficult as he tried to look away and not get a raging hard on standing right in Trickster’s Costumes.

“Dean? Are you okay?” Cas’ concern sounded so real and he looked worried. “Maybe we shouldn’t go out. You look a bit flushed.”

When Cas reached his hand out to touch Dean’s forehead, Dean started into motion.

“What? No, I’m totally fine. I’m awesome. We have to get those burgers, like anything could stop me. They are so awesome.” Dean was rambling and managed to stop the word-vomit before Cas thought something was really wrong. But, he could see Gabriel laughing behind Cas. The costume had been intentional for Dean’s benefit.

Dean was never going to forgive Charlie for making this situation an issue. Never forgive.

“Hey, little bro, where’s the wig?” Gabriel was smiling so wide that it made Dean’s face hurt and the man was enjoying this far too much.

“Gabriel, you know I hate wearing the wigs. Just be happy that I put on this outfit despite it essentially being a second skin.” He sighed and turned to Dean. “I am so sorry that you must go out with me like this. If you would like to change your mind, you can. My brother has decided that this is appropriate evening attire, but I am quite certain that this is the same outfit he would have sent me out in anyway. It is, well, less than appropriate, in my opinion.”

The look on Cas’ face was resigned and he seemed to expect Dean to cancel on him. But, cancelling was the last thing on Dean’s mind. Well, he wanted to cancel dinner and head straight to the after dinner fun, but he wasn’t even sure there would be after dinner fun. Hell, he still didn’t know if this was even a date.

“No way! You look…” Dean was blushing again as he rubbed at his neck trying to survive this situation. “You look awesome. The outfit is great. I wouldn’t dream of cancelling.”

“It is even better with the wig Dean! Convince him to wear it. He looks darling in the long blond hair!”

Through the thin fabric, Dean could see every muscle in Cas’ shoulders tense. He hadn’t even looked at Cas’ head after he spotted the costume. Cas did still have just his dark mussed hair, but apparently Gabriel had required him to shave, which had made his face look rather young and oddly cute. The image of Cas in the wig sort of piqued Dean’s interest, but he did not want to make Cas uncomfortable if he avoid it.

“Nah, I think that his dark messy look goes well with the angelic white outfit.” Dean winked at Cas and the other man got a bit wide-eyed, but they managed to escape after that without any incident. Though Dean did notice that the back did indeed have wings. They were in a soft metallic embroidery floss. It was luminescent and shimmered different colors as the light moved over it. They were thin and not the stereotypical wings, but there were definitely wings on the back. Maybe the outfit was some kind of angel. Dean certainly hadn’t seen it before.

“Cas? What costume is that anyway? It doesn’t look familiar.”

“Hmmm? Oh, well, Gabriel is correct that technically I ought to be wearing the wig for this to be correct, but the clothes are for Yggdrasil from the Japanese video game Tales of Symphonia. Gabriel likes to send me out in the ‘prettier’ outfits in the evening to attract more female clients and the more common costumes during the day to attract everyone. Often the attention is unwanted on my part, but he is correct that the girls do enjoy this kind of thing.”

“The attention is unwanted? But you look awesome! You could get anybody you wanted in an outfit like that. I wish I could look that good.” Dean couldn’t understand the concept of disliking the attention. He liked to flirt with people, though he always embarrassed himself when a guy flirted with him. But, it made him feel good to know people wanted him.

Castiel just looked at Dean as though he didn’t believe that Dean truly thought he looked good in the outfit.

“Seriously, Cas, you look really really good. Amazing.” He really wanted to make Cas believe that it was true.

Cas’ mouth did quirk up a bit and he turned away, but Dean could the little crinkles at his eyes and the slight wrinkle of his nose as he smiled at the compliment.

“Uh… Thanks. But yes, the attention is generally unwanted. I do not often wish to spend the kind of evening they intend. Especially when Gabriel sends me out in something this tight. Though, I should just be thankful he did not send me out in a skirt. The skirts themselves don’t bother me, but often I get very unpleasant attention from less than scrupulous men. I have forbidden school uniforms from Gabriel’s list of options.”

He was speaking so seriously about this, like it was the biggest problem in the world, and Dean couldn’t help but to start laughing. He had doubled over and had to prop himself up with a hand on his hip.

“Oh god, Cas. I am so sorry, that sounds awful. Shame you won’t do the school uniforms anymore though. I bet you look damn good in them.” He could barely breathe around his own laughter, but somehow the discussion was making it easier to talk. In fact, Dean finally stopped laughing because he realized what he had just said. He had actually said out loud that he thought Cas would look good in a school uniform and somehow he didn’t feel the need to backpedal as fast as possible.

Castiel’s expression could only be described as nonplussed. His lips were drawn in a tight line and his head was tilted and he was squinting at Dean. It only made Dean laugh even more.

“Dean, I do not understand why you find this so funny. I am just being honest.”

Dean could only wave his arm and motion to give him a minute to calm himself. When he had finally stopped his laughter, he looked at Cas who still wore a very serious expression.

“Is the attention really that bad?”

“Yes, Dean. I once had a man approach me who actually flipped the skirt I was wearing, so that the underwear underneath was showing. Gabriel is very thorough and decides the appropriate undergarments as well, always saying that ‘everything is the costume and you can’t wear anything that doesn’t work.’ I was going to just walk away and ignore the issue, but the man approached me again and propositioned me. Gabriel laughed when I punched the man, but I never let him put me in a skirt again. He tried to tell me the guy was the exception and not the rule, called him a ‘neckbeard’ or something, but I do not welcome such awful advances.”

He looked pissed off just thinking about the situation and Dean couldn’t blame him. Dean still wanted to see Cas in the outfit, but he would have thrown the guy out the window for touching Cas without his permission.

“Holy fuck, Cas. That is messed up. Sorry… Well, I still think you would look good in the uniform, but with shit like that happening, I get why you won’t. But, with an outfit like this, you don’t like the girls approaching you either?”

“Often they are not as…direct, but I still do not appreciate that Gabriel uses me as eye candy and some people wish to obtain said candy. I have been touched without my consent far too many times when I wear things that are appealing in such ways.”

Castiel just looked sad at this point, like he couldn’t understand why people had to be that way. Dean wanted to shield him from everyone that would ever put that look on Castiel’s face. He was absolutely seething.

“Fuck! I would…Sonuva… I just, I won’t let anybody do that to you and I sure as hell won’t touch you without your permission. You aren’t some toy to play with or try to claim… I mean it doesn’t matter how hot any person is, you just don’t do that shit.”

The pain in his fist finally registered as he realized he was digging his nails into his palm as he made fists of rage.

But, Cas did smile. It was a little sad, but happy enough to make his eyes sparkle a little. “Thanks. I appreciate that. Gabriel says I can defend myself and leaves me to it, but I do not wish to defend myself. I just want to be left in peace. I appreciate that you will guard my honor, if you don’t mind me putting it that way.”

The man sometimes spoke in an odd way, a bit old fashioned, but very intelligent and aware and it made Dean laugh a little. “No, man, thank you for not assuming I am a creep like those other people. And I certainly don’t mind ‘defending your honor.’ Now, let’s get those burgers before I eat my own hand!”

“No, Dean, thank you for taking me out tonight so that I won’t run into those people. This has already been a wonderful day.”

Castiel’s sincerity made Dean’s heart tighten and he swallowed around the growing lump in his throat. Dean was so screwed it wasn’t even funny. This guy was too good for Dean, but he still wanted him. God only knew how much Dean hoped that he would deserve this dinner and maybe another some other time.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it a date? Is it not a date? Is it the most awkward dinner ever?

The diner was more crowded than Dean had expected, which was not something that he wanted, but the burger was more important. They stood in the entrance for a couple moments as they looked around trying to find two empty seats together or a table.

Cas had stretched up on his tip and it had distracted Dean. The white fabric really didn’t hide anything and when Cas had pushed up onto his toes, it had given a really extra nice view of Cas’ perfect ass and great legs. Gabriel was kind of a dick, but Dean owed him a thank you for the costume choice. He also owed Charlie a thank you for abandoning him and keeping him out of their room for the evening.

“Dean! I found a spot.” He was pointing at an odd corner booth. It was probably a table designed for four and it has two bench seats against the corner walls, but no other chairs as they had been dragged over to another table for a large group. And, it was undoubtedly the only free table in the place. There were a couple open seats at the counter, but none together and the people sitting there looked like regulars who didn’t seem keen on the odd visitors the convention brought by.

“Okay, let’s go.” Dean started sliding through the cramped space and tugged on Cas’ arm to get him moving too. He did prefer to sit with his back to a wall and being in the middle of the crowded restaurant would have been shitty, so the table’s placement was perfect. It was only a bit awkward that Dean and Cas were sitting sort of kiddie-cornered and sort of next to each other.

It might only have been awkward because Dean was still really aware of how pleasing Cas in his outfit was. The big panel of tanned skin with the gold necklace and the bright white fabric was really difficult to ignore. Even to order another one of those miraculous burgers from the night before.

“Dean, what kind of burger did you want?” The waitress looked super irritated and Cas looked a bit amused and Dean felt like a moron.

“Oh, uh that Vermont bacon cheeseburger please. Oh! And a chocolate milkshake. Thanks.”

“Dean, are you sure that you are okay? You seem to be having trouble focusing.” The man’s real concern was almost laughable considering the fact that the problem was exactly that he was focusing too much on Castiel to notice anything else.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Promise.” He smiled and nodded his head a bit, in the charming way he often uses to deflect questions from people. The smile felt too tight and too much like a lie and he started to wonder if he should just tell Cas the truth. But, if Cas didn’t appreciate people’s advances, he didn’t want to cause any discomfort. It would really have made Dean’s life a lot easier if he had bothered to figure out if this was a date sooner.

“Is something wrong then? If being out with me while in this costume was a problem, you could have told me and I could have asked Gabriel to choose something else.” Cas looked crestfallen, like he had done something wrong and Dean was disappointed to be out with him. Dean absolutely could not take it. He really hoped that he wasn’t about to make Cas want to leave or give unwelcome advances, but it seemed like honesty was the only way to make Cas stop worrying.

“No. I’m serious. I’m not embarrassed, you did nothing wrong. You and your costume are not at fault. Well, okay, the costume is and you are. You look too good in the costume. It’s distracting. You are distracting. I just… I don’t want you to think that I want you to be uncomfortable or like I am pressuring you, but stop worrying. Yes, I’m distracted and your excessive attractiveness is an issue, but it isn’t a bad thing.”

This was the most ridiculous compliment he had ever given. In fact, this might be the dumbest thing he has ever done. Dean didn’t do honest. Dean did shallow compliments and easy lays and not whatever this nonsense was. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Cas. He felt like a disgusting creeper after the conversation they had been having on the way out of the convention center and he thought he was going to puke.

“Uh… so, yeah… If you want to leave now because I am just another perv trying to take advantage, that would suck, but it’d be totally understandable.”

Fuck, he wanted to cry and he was a manly man that did not cry and this was the worst attempt at anything he had ever done since the first time he tried to ask a girl out.

“Dean?” Castiel sounded confused, but not angry or upset, so Dean chanced a glance up at the other man. “You asked me out to dinner and drinks before Gabriel put me in this costume. You have not touched me except in a friendly manner, which might be odd, but isn’t unacceptable or unwelcome. Thank you for worrying about me. And, I am… sorry? I will try to be less attractive and distracting?”

He made the cutest face while he said the last part. He clearly couldn’t figure out if apologizing was the right thing to do when someone told you that you were so attractive it was a problem. He had scrunched his nose and drawn his mouth down and to the side, which made his cheeks puff out a little and everything just screamed that he was actually trying to think of how to accomplish this and make it easier for Dean.

“Oh my god, no stop. You don’t have to apologize for being attractive. I should be apologizing for staring. And you sound like nobody has actually complimented you on a date ever… I mean…”

Cas’ eyes went wide and his cheeks got bright pink when Dean said that. Dean stared at Cas for a moment. He had said that he would find something else to do on his Saturday nights to avoid his brother sending him to unpleasant events. But Gabriel had also said that Cas had never brought somebody back to the booth. And Cas didn’t say he found someone, just that he found an excuse to not go.

“Cas, has nobody ever complimented you on a date?”

The man chewed on his bottom lip and looked down at his lap.

“Dean… Is this a date?”

He had drawn up his shoulders again, the muscles tight and anxiety filled and Dean just wanted to soothe Cas, get him to relax until he never got tense like that again.

“Castiel, I don’t do this whole talking thing. Honestly? I don’t date. I pick up a girl at a bar, I take her home with me, and then we never see each other again.”

Cas looked crushed and his entire had tensed like he was about to run out of the restaurant.

“Oh…”

“No, NO! Stop, wait. I was not done. I should have said I didn’t date. I picked up girls at bars. Charlie has been helping me admit that I am attracted to guy, not just can admit that they are attractive. And yes. I want this to be a date. I want this to be a fucking date so bad. I’ve been thinking about if I was gonna fuck this up since we started walking to Trickster’s Costumes.”

Well, if Dean hadn’t blown everything all to hell with that, then the night was looking up.

Castiel was looking at Dean, with his mouth hanging open. It looked like he was trying to find something to say because his mouth would move a little, like he was going to start talking, but he didn’t make any sound.

“Umm… Cas? Do you want me to leave or do you want this to not be a date or can this be a date and I can stop screwing it up?”

“Really? You want this to be a date? But, you said you don’t date.”

“Well I want to date you. Okay?”

“Yeah. Uh, okay.”

“But, you still didn’t answer my question. Has nobody complimented you on a date?”

“Now they have?” Castiel’s smirk was teasing and happy and his eyes sparkled a little, like he had accomplished something great.

“Well, I guess this is a night of firsts for both of us. My first date with a guy. And I guess your first date period?”

“Yeah… Umm, I guess thank you. I’m glad, I really wanted this to be a date too. And I guess I owe Gabriel a thank you for the outfit choice or maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Hah! And I wouldn’t have embarrassed myself completely. But yeah, I owe him a thanks for the costume too. You do look really good, so sorry if I stare.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of food porn. Not literal porn, but Dean and Cas eating is always a pleasurable experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short but I have been failing at feeling the vibe of writing and I always enjoy picturing Dean and Cas eating and how much pleasure they get out of it, so for this you get a little bit of food porn-ish.

After they determined that the dinner was a date and that Cas was too attractive for Dean to handle, everything went much smoother.

Their burgers arrived at the table and Dean was torn over who to appreciate more. It was hard to tear his eyes away from Castiel in his costume, but the melty cheese and greasy bacon and juicy burger were calling to him. Cas had ordered a bacon cheeseburger as well and a hot chocolate, which Dean found incredibly cute. But, his hunger was getting to be more important than Castiel’s face and mannerisms, so the burger finally won out. He managed to pick up his burger and get his lips around the sandwich before his eyes lifted up to the most pornographic sight in the history of the world.

He was frozen, sandwich partway in his mouth, staring at Castiel.

The other man had his eyes closed and little crinkles had formed in the corners. His eyebrows were drawn together in that overwhelming-pleasure expression. His pink lips were spread around the burger. And as he bit down and pulled away, Cas groaned. The sound was everything Dean would ever want to get out of Cas in bed. His lips were shiny from the grease of the burger and Dean wanted to lick a drop of ketchup from his lips. He chewed the large bite he had taken without shame or and self-consciousness. Everything detail of the man radiated sheer pleasure.

Dean had forgotten how to breathe and eat and live. He was just staring at Cas with a burger hanging out of his mouth.

“Mmmmm.” The way Cas’ Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed was positively sinful. And then he opened those bright blue eyes of his and looked at Dean and the happiness was shining in them clearer than day. “These make me very happy.”

He managed to pull his burger out of the way and say, “Uh, yeah. Damn good burgers…”

He lowered his eyes because if Castiel started eating again and Dean was still looking, he was going to slide over the bench and into Cas’ lap and just have his way with him. That was not the plan, no matter how good a plan it was.

Another moan sounded from the man’s throat and Dean could picture the scene all over again and he had to close his eyes tight and bite into his burger before he hit his limit.

“Fuck this is good!” Dean had a tendency to talk while he chewed, he just pushed the food into his cheek, making him look a bit like a chipmunk. But, at least the burger was good enough and he was hungry enough to stop watching Castiel eat his burger.

They didn’t talk much while they ate, a sure sign of good food. And, Cas didn’t seem to have nearly as big an issue with the situation as Dean had been having. Dean did catch Cas staring while he swiped a fry through his ketchup and then onto his tongue. Maybe Cas was also feeling a bit distracted and just happened to be better at hiding it.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is basically just a transition chapter. It is rather short and probably not very good. I am having an absolutely rubbish Christmas and was not feeling inspired at all, but I wanted to get something posted and start getting going on this again... So I will try to write more tomorrow. Merry Christmas everyone!

Dean was pretty sure his fries were now at room temperature and they probably tasted like nothing. He really wasn’t entirely certain because he wasn’t paying attention to eating them at all. Normally, eating fries this good, he would wolf them down. Just the night before, Charlie had been impressed and horrified by his eating style, but Dean really wanted this meal to last.

On his usual “date,” pickup if he’s being honest, he could easily extend the evening into drinks or a movie or right to the good part, his bed. This was not his usual date. This was nothing like a pickup or anything else of that sort. Not only did Dean find Cas interesting and attractive, if a bit difficult and frustrating in some ways, but he actually wanted to get to know the man. And, to make matters worse, he had no idea about con etiquette on this point. Charlie had briefed Dean on hooking up at a convention, but failed to mention how to date at a convention.

So, Dean could only think of one option. He would eat his fries as slow as he could to make this meal last as long as humanly possible. If he was luckier than he normally was, then he would think of something that he could invite Cas to do before he was reduced to eating the paper soaked with grease and ketchup.

He had almost pushed his ketchup laden fry into the messy brown hair that had appeared in front of him, when he finally realized Cas had moved. In fact, Cas had moved within inches of Dean’s face and was staring at him with one eyebrow quirked up and a smirk to match.

“Ah, so you are still with us. I was beginning to worry that perhaps your mind had been erased mid meal or that you were actually an android and your battery was running low.”

The comment drew a soft chuckle from Dean, but his focus was not good enough to have that face so close and still be able to say something coherent.

“Uh… Cas, ever heard of personal space? It’s really hard to chat with you practically kissing me.”

He was trying to sound humorous, but part way through saying it, he was about 98.9% sure that it sounded more like an invitation than a joke.

“Oh right, sorry.” Cas backed away so that there was about a foot and a half between their mouths and Dean could pay at least a modicum of attention to whatever Cas had been talking about beforehand. “Anyway, I was asking how you felt about stopping by one of the screening rooms. It isn’t even remotely as nice as an actual movie theater, but they use a decent sized screen and show some great movies. Personally, I am an avid fan of some of the lesser known films that they show. Especially some of the really bad movies. Even Gabriel cannot stand some of the worse D&D movies, but I find them delightful. There is an earnestness and honesty evident throughout them. Truly the people that made them loved what they were making. It is just a shame that they are often too cheesy to respect as movies. However, I still love them.”

When Cas explained, his eyes lit up and he moved his hands as he spoke. Dean had never watched any of the D&D moves that Cas was talking about, but they couldn’t be all that bad. Plus, if Cas liked them this much, it would be worth watching Cas watch the movie, even if the movie sucked.

Best part? Dean no longer needed to think of a way to extend the evening because Cas had come up with something con-appropriate and that he had the idea meant he even wanted to continue hanging out with Dean. Flawless victory!

“Sounds awesome. I used to watch the absolute worst stuff on tv. We moved a lot and I spent a lot of mid-mornings and early afternoons watching bad soaps or even worse movies, anything I could find. And worst movies ever? All on at 3am on Christmas and Easter. Sammy always had to wake up stupidly early and we would be stuck waiting for our dad to get up. Those movies almost made me want to quit watching tv entirely.”

Cas’ laugh was soft and pleasant and Dean was glad he had recounted his experience.

”Well, I hope this won’t make you quit tv and movies entirely. I consider them to be so bad that they are good. Truly skillful in their lack of quality. But, if we want to enjoy them in all their glory, we need to hurry and get the bill or we won’t get to see the beginning.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Castiel talk about some of Castiel's family info and his hobbies and how he looks so fit.

Castiel walked with purpose. It was one of the things Dean had noticed when he first saw the Batman cosplayer stride past his window. The man moved with the grace of, some graceful animal, none of them sounded right. Dean couldn’t see the appeal in a deer or elk or fucking reindeer or any nonsense like that, at least not when trying to find an adequate comparison to the lithe man in front of him.

The way Castiel moved hadn’t been as obvious when they were in the convention center or when the cape had hidden much of his movements. However, now, in that Yggdrasil costume, every single tiny motion was evident. He was like a predator, calm, powerful, slightly aggressive, and very controlled. Dean couldn’t think of many times where he had met someone that had the social quirkiness that Cas had, but managed to move like that.

“Hey, uh, Cas…”

The man nodded his head and raised an eyebrow, a clear enough invitation to continue.

“I was wondering if you play any sports or anything?”

The answering squint confused Dean a fair amount. It seemed like a safe enough topic, like hobbies or whatever. The squint made him worried he had asked something that made Castiel uncomfortable.

“I enjoy running and swimming. However, I am also trained with some, mm, more traditional weapons, you might say. My family had some interesting pastimes and as such, I learned how to fight with various weapons and in various armors.”

He hadn’t turned to look at Dean as he said this, but Dean saw the slight lift at the corner of his mouth. A miniscule smile. Even if he thought it odd, Dean knew that he probably enjoyed the weapons and armor.

“Is that how Gabriel learned to make all those cool costumes? Eh, never mind, I don’t really want to talk about him. Are you talking like LARPing weapons? What’s your favorite to use?”

It was actually pretty damn hot that the guy was into all that. Dean was suddenly wondering about Cas beating him in a duel and asking him if he submits and it was a pretty great concept.

“Heh.” Cas looked smug as he gave a small chuckle. “There is nothing wrong with LARPing, but uh no, we don’t LARP. Most SCAdians would mock you for comparing the two. I was raised doing SCA stuff, Society for Creative Anachronism. We do medieval recreation. My father was king a couple times and it was a big deal. He is huge on history and our family is descended from a knight or something. So, it was cool. But no, we only use LARP-style weapons with children. Adults on the field fight with rattan weapons, rather hard wooden sticks, basically. And if you do rapier, there is real metal involved. I prefer to fight with a short sword or rapier. I enjoy fighting more with speed and intelligence than brute strength. Though, there is an element of finesse in some two-handed weapons.”

Dean opened his mouth to say something. Ask a question. Compliment how awesome that sounded. Anything. Instead, his jaw just sort of flapped uselessly. Now seemed like a good time for his brain to reboot incredibly slowly.

“I promise we aren’t as weird as it sounds. We aren’t to the point of those Battle of Nations people. Though, I have had the pleasure of training with a real metal weapon, it is more useful to practice with the same weapon that one will use in battle. As I am only allowed rattan on the field, metal doesn’t particularly suit my needs.”

“That is awesome! So you guys skip the boffer stuff and just beat each other with sticks? That’s great! I would love to come and see it sometime. And I’d certainly like to see you kick some of the other guys asses. I bet you can beat any old musclehead.”

Castiel pursed his lips a little and looked down, probably his shy expression. Dean wasn’t sure how a guy could be adept with a wooden sword and still be cute and shy, but Cas did it and it worked for Dean. It worked really well for Dean.

“Ah, well, it often depends. There are other things too. My cousin is a blacksmith. He is actually quite good. He used to do heavy list fighting, but he is a bit lazy and prefers artistic things over joining the field with tons of sweaty people. And the SCA is very much about history and craft as much as fighting. There is archery and arts and sciences. There are many great scribes and craftsmen and historians. I would love to have you come to an event. It would be good to have you see me in something besides one of Gabriel’s costumes.”

“I certainly don’t mind the costumes, but I don’t think I would mind the armor either. And I think I owe your brother a big thank you for the costumes. I got to see the greatest Batman of my entire life, a magnificent Darth Vader, and now I get to enjoy you in this Yggras-whatever costume.”

“Please do not encourage him. Do not thank him. He is not as kind as you are making it sound. I promise, while the overarching reason may sound okay, his delivery often leaves much to be desired. Anyway, we need to get to the second floor screening rooms for our movie. Don’t get lost in the crowd.”

His eyes sparkled quite a bit and he smirked back at Dean as he offered a hand. Dean raised an eyebrow and smiled back, taking the hand and following Castiel into the crowd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The SCA is awesome and you should totally check it out. Also, I think that when I finish the con, there will be a sequel, so I can explore some more of the SCA/geek things I have wanted to write for Dean and Cas.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More walking and talking and Dean appreciating Cas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy the stream of updates today. I might manage another chapter today, I'm going to try.
> 
> Sorry if it seems a bit repetitive... I dunno, I just am trying to make the time flow moderately natural and also, who doesn't want to appreciate some Cas being awesome... Sorry I really like my vision of Cas in the Yggdrasil costume. I think I might commission a drawing for this fic of Dean in the Kirk outfit and Cas in the Yggdrasil outfit...

The couples in high school, walking around hand-in-hand, trying to stay together through the crowd had never been his thing. Well, except when he was pulling a pretty girl into a janitor’s closet or empty classroom, but that was different. He had found it irritating above all else when he had to ask some disgusting couple making out in front of his locker to move. He had almost punched a guy in the face because the “I miss you already I love you so much” was taking so long he was ready to glue their faces together.

Dean still definitely wanted to glue their faces together. It was 100% annoying and he didn’t want to suffer through that shit. However, Cas pulling his hand to keep Dean at his side as they moved through the throng was pleasant. It was nice to feel Cas grasp his hand harder or give him a tug or to look down and see their hands intertwined.

Cas dropped his hand to his side as they got on the escalator. They had managed to get through the first floor crowd without any photo requests or any other incident (like a black eye by pyramid head that Dean had witnessed earlier in the day). It was awesome to look out over the convention floor from the escalator. He could see all the cosplayers and all the people milling about and some groups of people talking animatedly. There was a photoshoot happening off to the side of the first floor, taking advantage of the late evening light. It looked vaguely familiar, but mostly in a Charlie-wants-me-to-try-this kind of way. Maybe it was Dragon War? Era? Age? Dragon Age, yeah, that one. It was on the laptop Charlie had commandeered and prepared for his gaming education.

At the top of the escalator, a group of people came up to Castiel to ask for a photo. They looked nervous enough to pass out, but they also seemed to be vibrating with excitement. Evidently, Tales of Symphonia was their favorite game ever and to see such a wonderful Tales cosplay is rare. Cas posed for the photo.

It was amazing. Castiel was all predatory grace and a large spoonful of social deficiency, but he wasn’t icy or cruel or anything negative like that. But, when he posed for the photo, he wasn’t Castiel who likes burgers and bad nerd movies. His eyes went cold and he tilted his head. His posture changed and he pushed his shoulders back and dropped his arms in a relaxed, yet tense, position. He pushed up onto the balls of his feet a little, enough to make the pose look like he was almost floating. He bent one knee just enough. And he smirked.

“Kyaaaaaaa~~~~”

The girl’s squeal was almost deafening and shook Dean out of his complete daze. He wasn’t going to make a noise like that, but he could understand why she had. Castiel was completely different, but wow, he liked it. In fact, he might have to look into that Tales game the outfit came from. He was even a bit sorry that Cas had skipped the wig.

“I hope the photo comes out well. If you would like to tag me in any photos online, the costume comes from Trickster Costumes and my name is Castiel. I am very sorry, but my friend and I must be leaving or we will miss the screening we are going to.”

“Uh, yeah, sorry. Thanks for the photo! You make an absolutely amazing Yggdrasil and I will definitely tag you when I post them later!”

The girl was blushing hard enough that Dean was worried she might actually have a fever, but Cas had grabbed his hand again and begun walking away. 

“Sorry about that Dean. It is part of my job to allow photos of the costumes and it is a little rewarding to see how excited the photographers are. Especially when I am wearing lesser known costumes such as this one. But, we should still make it in time to see the film.”

“Dude, don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal, plus, I think you just made their year. When that girl screamed, I thought my eardrum was going to start bleeding! But you do look great in the costume and your pose was awesome.”

Castiel looked a taken aback, as though he hadn’t expected Dean to be pleasant about the setback. Slowly, his mouth softened and both sides pushed up enough to show that he has slight dimples and his eyes crinkled a bit at the corners. It was the gentlest look Dean had seen on the other man and he could do nothing but smile back. Cas had a truly beautiful smile. It was so honest, not something Dean had ever had the chance to enjoy before, other than with Sammy.

“Well, I am glad that you didn’t mind. And I agree, they did seem very happy about the costume. I am glad I didn’t flinch when the girl made that sound though. Poses like that are difficult and falling backward over the rail and onto the first floor would have been unfortunate.”

Dean laughed at the joke. It was easy and pleasant and he could feel his own eyes crinkling and his cheeks getting a bit sore from smiling and laughing all evening. Cas sure was dry in his humor, but he was good, very good.

“Well, I think we are just over here. You are going to love this. And, I snuck in some gummi bears. Can’t have movies without them.”

Castiel pushed the door open and strode in. Dean followed, thankful that Charlie had conspired to make tonight possible.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sort of movie watching/

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: I have never watched Flash Gordon. It showed up on a bunch of lists for bad sci-fi/fantasy and sounded perfect for this scene. I hope I don't offend anyone by indicating a movie they love is awful, awful in the best way though.

Classics are the best movies, otherwise they wouldn’t be classics. Give him some Clint Eastwood, Star Wars, Star Trek, classic gangster movies, anything that deserves to be called a classic, and Dean Winchester would be happy. Epic stories of amazing people being awesome would be his choice any and every day.

Castiel apparently has a different idea of classic. When he meant bad, he meant so bad it had literally become good by way of its badness. So bad that trying to understand how the bad became good made Dean’s head hurt so bad his eyes started watering.

He was thankful he didn’t start thinking about it until much later, when he tried to explain to Charlie that Cas had been right about it being so bad that it was great.

Thinking during Flash Gordon would probably have been a terrible idea. This movie took absurd to another level. Villains are supposed to have a reason for their villainy, something tragic to make the viewer understand a bit, like Dean’s beloved Vader. Suffice it to say,Ming the Merciless went the spoiled princess route of BECAUSE I WANT TO. Dean sure as hell wasn’t going to identify with that load of shit after living most of his life in motel rooms. Basically a tantrum, not a real villain, however it did help him get into the laughter and cheesiness because he literally couldn’t take anything seriously about the film.

Castiel sat beside him and laughed his ass off. He smiled wide enough that his dimples had dimples. His eyes and nose crinkled up. At one point, Cas was laughing so hard that he stopped making sound, his eyes were tearing, and he was doubled over, almost out of his seat; Dean had been worried that Cas was sick, but when he heard the wheezing sounds as Castiel calmed down, he realized Cas was just trying to literally die of laughter.

The man had an amazing laugh. He really lit up, despite the obvious darkness of the screening room. Dean laughed a lot too, wiping tears from his eyes and leaning on his knee to try and maintain a little bit of dignity.

When the film ended, the lights came back on and other viewers started out of the room. Most people were in similar states to Dean and Cas and Dean officially decided that this had been even more fun than LARPing his first time.

“So, maybe next time, we should skip the gummis if we are going to last that much. I thought you were choking to death that one time, but you were just laughing your ass off.”

Castiel chuckled a bit, before replying, “Well, you can’t skip the gummis. Maybe we should just eat them before the movie starts. We just have to be less late to our next movie date.”

The man winked at the end. He actually winked. It was cheesy and perfect, just like Flash Gordon had been. Bad B-movies really suited the man.

“Well, I’m picking the movie next time. This was crazy. Hilarious and great, but crazy.” Honestly, Dean was envisioning Dirty Dancing (Swayze gets a pass!) and maybe burgers in the batcave and popcorn and some good beer. It sounded like the best date ever.

The squinty stare was, once again, being directed at Dean. Then came the cocked head.

“So, there will be a next time?”

“Obviously! This was awesome. Though maybe next time we can skip the costumes and go a little more comfortable.”

He was pretty sure that the date had gone awesome. And, he was like 86.3% certain that he had been giving signals that he would enjoy doing this again. How Cas could think Dean didn’t want to do this again was beyond Dean, but that is certainly what it sounded like.

“I am… Relieved. I had a very good time. And I would like seeing what you would choose for a second date movie. However, we should maybe start heading elsewhere because I don’t believe we want to be here for the next panel.”

The “however” had gotten Dean worried for a moment. But, when Castiel finished the sentence, Dean looked around the room and when he saw the weird tentacle display being prepared, he was definitely ready to head out to anywhere else.

“Yeah, uh, I don’t know what is about to happen here, but I’ve seen enough anime to know tentacles and attractive people make for dangerous situations. I wouldn’t want some sketchy tentacle monster damaging my virtue.”

“I believe they are holding the ‘hentai voice acting’ panel here next. And of course, we mustn’t get Captain Kirk into any impure situations.”

The air quotes around “impure” made the entire conversation end perfectly. Dean had really lucked out on this one. He just had to make sure he didn’t lose Castiel in any more crowds, which, at the moment, was a literal concern as the convention crowd flowed around them in the hallway.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dean and Cas decide what to do after their movie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't worked on this in ages and this chapter sucks ass. One of the reasons for both these things is that I wasn't entirely sure what to do after the movie, so yeah... This chapter was basically me thinking it out. I hope you don't hate it and that it gets me back in gear to finish this.

The crowd was unreasonably difficult to walk through, despite the late hour, and Dean still hadn’t completely mastered whatever skill was required to pass through without tripping or destroying another con-goer. However, this had 100% worked out in his favor. Castiel was a pro after years of being dragged around and sent out as bait by Gabriel, so he took the lead and grabbed Dean’s hand as he practically danced through the crowd.

Once again, Dean knew he had to thank Gabriel, maybe even grovel at his feet and kiss his shoes or something, for how great Cas looked in his costume. The man had a phenomenal ass and the embroidery flowing down the back of the white fabric and then the pull of the fabric over his ass as he walked was worth every penny the convention had cost.

“Dean.”

He had been staring too much. Cas was looking at him with a smirk. In fact, this smirk was so smug, Castiel should probably take up being a supervillain or a god. If Dean was lucky, Cas wouldn’t have called his name too many times. If he was unlucky, he was about to get laughed out of the convention for being truly pathetic and a pervert.

Attempting, in vain, to shrug off his embarrassment, Dean scratched the back of his head and smiled.

“Uh, sorry. Just admiring the costume and the person in it. What were you asking?”

“I wanted to know what we are doing now. Were there any late panels you wanted to attend or the parties maybe? Usually, I am safely back in my room by now if Gabriel hasn’t forced me into a rave to be leered at by interested parties.”

The last bit might have been a slap at Dean’s previous actions, but Castiel looked away, almost scanning the crowd to make sure that nobody was approaching him. But, he felt secure that he wasn’t included in the comment because Cas was still definitely holding his hand. He smiled softly to himself.

“Well, it’s my first con still. I don’t really know what happens at most things. Is there anything you want to do?”

“I enjoy most things that are available, generally the problem is that I am alone in clothing meant to draw customers to Gabriel. We could find a guide book and look at what is available.”

There had definitely been a mention of parties somewhere in the conversation and the idea of dancing with Castiel in the hot press of bodies and darkness sounded like the best thing ever at that moment.

“I think I’m all paneled out. You said something about a rave; does that sound okay? I promise I’ll only let one interested party close enough to touch you.”

He ended sounding as cheesy as he could and it got a perfect chuckle from Cas.

“Well, first tell me who the interested party is, just in case I don’t approve.”

Dean passed a hand over his face to hide his laughter and the blush he could feel coming on. The man was good. He flirted perfectly and joked just the right amount.

“This might come as a surprise, so maybe you should sit down.” Cas just raised an eyebrow. “But, I am the interested party. Shocking, I know. So, do you approve?”

“I think I do. I warn you though, I do not dance often. I don’t think I am bad, but I am unsure how others might find me.”

“Cas, let me put my arms around you while music pulses around us and you are the best dancer I know.”

Castiel laughed at that. “That is undoubtedly an exaggeration. Or you don’t know anyone that dances. Anyway, I think the rave is near where we gamed earlier.”


	26. 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The con rave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THIS IS TINY AND TERRIBLE T_T I wrote that they were gonna go to the dance because I didn't want it over but then I was filled with regret because I couldn't find the right way to write this chapter... So I cranked out this tiny blurb that makes me an awful person... And I totally copped out at the end because I didn't know what to do... So yeah, I'm wicked sorry.
> 
> We are moving into the end. I am gonna write their date's end and then Sunday and then this fic will end. If people want a sequel, I will try it...
> 
> Anyway, music for this scene: "White and Nerdy" by Weird Al of course. The other two winners I listened to were "Neville" and "Freak" by MC Chris. I recommend them. Also, imagining Dean and Cas dancing to them brings me a lot of joy.

The hall was a confusing mix of darkness and overwhelming light. The light was fighting through thick clouds of smoke and the shapes moving through the air were mesmerizing. Dean could feel his heart pounding from his chest all the way to his feet, though it was probably just the bass amped up as much as possible.

“FIRST IN MY CLASS HERE AT MIT

GOT SKILLS I’M A CHAMPION AT D&D

MC ESCHER THAT’S MY FAVORITE MC

KEEP YOUR 40 I’LL JUST HAVE AN EARL GREY TEA”

“If I wasn’t feeling white and nerdy already, the music choice definitely tipped me over the edge,” Dean shouted in an attempt to be heard.

Small dimples appeared on Castiel’s cheeks and his eyes crinkled up, so it would appear that Cas was laughing. That was a very good sign. He leaned in, chin just above Dean’s shoulder, and spoke in a mildly deafening manner.

“Dean, if this seems really nerdy to you, I can’t wait for you to hear some of the other classics that are definitely going to be played.”

They moved into the crowd, holding hands so they couldn’t lose each other. The press of bodies was hot and almost unpleasant. But, when Dean drew Cas in against him, the stifling heat of the crowd was beyond irrelevant.

When a new song started, the beat was fast and rhythmic. Dean positioned them so they were each riding the other’s thigh. Their hips pushed together and Dean put one hand on Castiel’s ass as he moved their bodies together. As Cas relaxed, Dean smiled and leaned in, “not so hard is it? I think you’re fine.” As he pulled back, he winked at the other man and gave his ass a squeeze.

Castiel started out stiff and the anxiety radiated off of him, but the other man had a good feel for the music. Soon, he was rolling his hips to the heavy bass and wearing an easy smile. Dean was certain he had never seen something so sexy. He was also pretty sure he hadn’t had this much fun in ages.

The night continued and they danced until they were too tired to continue. They left laughing about the song “Natural 20” and could not have had a better first date.


End file.
